Soak Up the Sun
by VampGrlz
Summary: All human AU. Willow wants her two best friends, Buffy and Cordelia, to spend the summer with her and her family on the Atlantic Coast, which, of course means guys and tons of drama.Reviews are greatly appreciated.
1. Prolouge School's Out

Prolouge: School's Over

The bell rang through Sunnydale High's halls triumphantly proclaiming that, finally, school was over. Students spilled into the main halls whooping and yelling, ready for summer vacation.

Three girls headed outside towards a clump of picnic tables on the campus. They plopped down and began talking.

"I'm so glad school is finally out." Willow chirped. When no equally excited reply came from either of the two girls Willow became concerned. "Guys, what's wrong?"

"I'm preparing myself for a summer filled with laziness, junk-food and a whole lot of nothing." Buffy replied with her face in her hands.

"Yeah, me too- except without the junk-food. I don't plan on gaining twenty pounds over the summer." Cordelia said.

"At this point, I don't care if I do." Buffy mumbled. "And Dawn isn't gonna be home either. She wants to spend the whole summer at Janice's house."

"C'mon guys, there has to be something you guys have planned to do over the summer." Willow looked at her two best-friends for a response. Buffy made a negative grunting noise and Cordelia just shook her head.

"Well, what are you you doing over the vacation that's so great?" Cordelia asked drly.

"I'm going on vacation with my aunt, uncle, cousin, cousin's friends, and my cousin's friend's brother."

"Geez, is it a family reunion?" Buffy asked.

"No...You know, I've seen some of my cousins friends." Willow replied with a small, sly grin.

Buffy straightened up a bit. "And?" She asked, intruiged by what could've caused this look on Willow's face.

"Well, they definitely weren't bad looking..." She trailed off.

Cordelia perked up like she'd sucked in ten cups of coffee. "Were they hot?" She asked bluntly.

Willow's eyes just widened to emphasize her point as she nodded her head.

"You're so lucky!" Buffy mock-whined.

Willow just sat smiling. She had a look on her face like she was thinking really hard.

"You know, guys? I think I have an idea."


	2. Chapter 1 Phone Call

Chapter 1- Phone call ---- This chapter was written by willowzlilsecret D

"Hold on Buffy, I'm gonna three way Cordy." Willow said into the phone

"Alrighty." Buffy agreed and Willow clicked off the line.

Buffy was still in her pjs, even though it was three in the afternoon. Her hair was still an enormous mess, and she was still half asleep. She walked aimlessly around her room. 'So this is how my summer is gonna be,' she said to herself. 'Just wandering around my house in my pajamas all day, not bothering to get dressed.' Suddenly Willow clicked back on the line.

"Buffy, you still there?" Willow asked.

"Yep." Buffy answered, unenthusiastically.

"Cordy?" Willow asked.

"Duh." Cordelia answered.

"Ok, I have something important to ask you guys." Willow said.

"What is it?" Buffy asked.

"If its red or black, go with the black." Cordelia said at the exact same time as Buffy spoke.

"Uhm right…" Willow answered. "Anyway, what I was going to ask was, do you guys want to spend summer vacation with me and my family at our beach house on the Atlantic coast?"

"No, I'm going to Italy." Cordelia answered.

"Uh, I can check…who all is going?" Buffy asked.

"Ok, Cordelia, since when are you going to Italy? and Buffy, my aunt, my uncle, my cousin, and three of his friends." Willow said.

"Since my daddy got an extra month of vacation, duh!" Cordelia answered.

"Ok, Wills, Cordy, I'll be right back." Buffy said and set the phone down.

"Are you sure you're going to Italy?" Willow prompted.

"Ugh! Yes I'm sure! Would you like me to ask?" Cordelia asked in desperation.

"Yes, actually." Willow answered, sounding pleased.

"God you're so stubborn and high maintenance!" Cordelia exclaimed and set down the phone.

'Ha, someone being more stubborn and high maintenance then Cordy…that'll be the day!' Willow said to herself as she went back to packing. She held the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she picked up some clothes strewn about her floor. She folded them, stuffed them in her bag, and moved on to the next section of clothes.

"I'm back and I can go. My mom was practically rejoicing to get rid of me because she has a bunch of shows at the gallery and then she's going on a business trip to the Big Orange." Buffy said.

"Uh…Orange Country…as in Florida?" Willow asked.

"No, silly, the Big Orange as in New York City, duh!" Buffy said.

"Uh, Buff…that's the Big Apple." Willow said laughing.

"Oh…I knew that." Buffy said and joined the laughter. "So where'd Cordelianna get to?"

"How did we ever come up with Cordelianna?" Willow wondered, then answered. "She should be back any second now, she was just making sure that she's actually going to Italy."

"Uhm…Will…can you do me a huge favor?" Buffy asked.

"What is it?" Willow asked hearing Buffy's worried tone.

"Well, the only way I can go to the beach with you is if I bring Dawn." Buffy said.

"That's fine! One of my cousins friends is bringing his brother and he's the same age as Dawn, I think…" Willow answered.

"Oh thank God!" Buffy exclaimed.

"Ok, I don't want any comments from the peanut gallery." Cordelia said, butting into the conversation. "But we're not going to Italy because my mom has a weird phobia of planes or whatever."

"That's awesome! That means you're coming!" Willow exclaimed.

"I never said that!" Cordelia protested.

"Oh come on Cordy, you know you want to. There will be guys there. Hot guys." Buffy said trying to convince her, even though she knew she was already won. Cordy likes to play hard to get.

"Ok…but only because otherwise I'd have to swim in a public pool." Cordelia said. Short pause. "My Daddy isn't opening our pool this summer." she explained.

"YES!" Buffy and Willow exclaimed in unison.

"I think this calls for a shopping trip!" Buffy said enthusiastically. She had something to do this summer! It wouldn't be spent sleeping and being lazy! Cordelia and Willow agreed immediately and the three girls started planning.

"This is gonna be the hottest summer ever!" Willow exclaimed.

plz leave us a pretty review! thank you...D


	3. Chapter 2 You Know Roadtrips

Chapter Two- You Know Roadtrips...

This chapter was written by Ozlover

A/N:For the time being, we have many chapters already written that haven't been submitted to this site. So all you have to do is ask, and you will receive! ;) Also, we've been having some problems at another site with someone copying our idea, so if the chapters start coming slowly it's because we're dealing with all of that messy junk.

"Okay," Buffy said as she hopped into the driver's seat of Cordelia's red convertible. "Are we ready?"

"Yeah." Willow said smiling.

"Do we have everything?"

"Yup." Cordelia replied.

Buffy glanced back at Dawn who was staring at the house. She reached back, bumped her on the arm and gave her a confused look.

"What's up?"

"Well, It's four AM, I'm tired, I'm not going to be able to see Janice at all, and if you're driving I already know that you're not going to stop if I have to pee." Dawn mumbled.

"C'mon, give me some credit. I'll stop if you have to go, I promise." Buffy held up her hand, like she was saying it on scout's honor. Dawn cracked a smile.

"Wow, what a beautiful sisterly moment. Now can we please drive? My car's gonna stall soon if we keep this up." Cordelia said while inspecting her nails.

Buffy rolled her eyes, but couldn't keep a smile off her face. Cordelia might not act like it, but Buffy could tell she was excited- especially about those guys Willow mentioned the other day. But she had to admit that she was too.

"So," Buffy started as she pushed the gas pedal and steered out of the driveway. "How many friends does your cousin have?" She asked Willow slyly.

"I'm not sure..._at least_ two."

Everyone turned to Cordelia, expecting some sort of a comment.

"What?" She asked, looking up from her nails.

"Nothing, you just seem a little...out of it. today, that's all." Buffy told her honestly.

"It's the whole 'early morning' experience." She replied. "Sorry..." She said, slightly rolling her eyes.

"No, it's okay. I know just what'll wake you up." Buffy replied cheerfully. She was so happy that her summer had a purpose..And she had something to look forward to- the guys.

"What?" Cordelia asked, sounding only half-interested.

"Well, let's just say that this is a one Starbucks town, and I know _exactly_ where that one is."

"I'll take a french-vanilla cappuccino with extra sugar and extra foam." Cordelia perked. the girls giggled at her sudden burst of energy. After a quick stop at Starbucks the girls were on their way out of Sunnydale.

"If you spill anything in my car, I'll go homicidal on you." Cordelia warned.

"I think in English she means, 'please don't spill anything.' " Willow pointed out. Cordelia mumbled a sorry.

An hour passed and they were nearing the border of Nevada. They were just cutting through to get to Utah. From there they would be driving across the United States to South Carolina.

Buffy could barely contain herself. She had to say something... "Okay, you guys might think I'm weird for saying this- "

"Too late." Dawn cut in.

"Ha ha..Anyway, you might think I am for saying this, but I really, really really wanna see those guys Will was talking about." She gushed.

"I know!" Cordelia piped up.

"Me too." Willow said.

"Wait, I thought you already saw them?" Buffy asked.

"I only saw two of them before, and who knows? They might not even be the ones my cousin's bringing." Willow replied.

"Wait, what guys?" Dawn asked.

"Willow's cousin's friends and one of their brothers. Did that make any sense?" Buffy asked.

"Kinda...But I get what you mean. Are they hot?"

Willow nodded her head enthusiasticaly.

"What do they look like?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, tell us!" Cordelia leaned over to look at Willow in the front seat.

"And ruin the surprise? Nah."

"We'll pull over on the side of the highway and tickle you to death if you don't." Buffy threatened with a goofy smile on her face.

"If you do it on the side of the highway there'll be witnesses." Willow warned.

"We'll do it in the woods!" Dawn replied, then paused. "Wait, that didn't come out right..."

When Willow still refused, Buffy swerved dangerously close to the grass on the side of the road.

"Okay, okay! I'll tell!" Willow giggled in defeat. She then began to describe to them the two guys she had seen.

"...And sometimes he gets this really serious look, almost like he's brooding or something." Willow concluded.

"Well, they sound hot anyway." Dawn replied. Buffy and Cordelia both agreed.

"Ooh, I can't wait to see them!" Buffy squealed.

In Utah, Cordelia switched places with Buffy and took the wheel. Willow also switched places with Dawn, who wanted to be in the front seat.

"Utah...," Cordelia trailed off like she was thinking. "Ohmygosh, is this where Amish people live? 'Cause I saw the movie "For Richer or Poorer" and believe me, we do NOT wanna stay here. They make you churn your own butter!" Cordelia replied frantically, waving her arms to emphasize her point.

"Um...no...I don't think so-"

"Good." Cordelia replied quickly, eyes glued to the road. Buffy glanced at Willow who just shrugged. When Buffy and Willow fell asleep from their extreme boredom Cordelia and Dawn began talking.

"...Yeah, that's when I knew I had to dump him." Cordelia finished telling Dawn about how her last relationship had fallen through. Apparently the guy she was dating had a secret obssessionw with Star Trek. Dawn couldn't help but laugh. She felt so strangely comfortable around her. Cordelia had even told Dawn her nickname (other than Cordy) - Cordelianna. 'Yeah, I think we had too much caffiene that night...' Dawn recalled what she'd said.

"So, how was your last break-up?" Cordelia asked suddenly.

It caught Dawn offguard. "Well...I was with this great guy, David, and things just happened between us so fast, that before I knew it, he was asking me to sleep with him." Dawn was staring at the trees whizzing by outside.

Cordelia gasped softly. "You didn't, right? I mean, you're barely sixteen."

Dawn was silent. "No." She said after a long while. "But I was _so_ close to doing it...and then the next day I finally realized what was going around and I broke it off with him that day."

"Wow." Was all Cordelia said.

"You know, I never told anyone that before." Dawn replied.

"Well, um, thanks for...sharing it with me." Cordelia said it as sincerely as she could- she was knew at it after all. But Dawn could tell she was trying- It was a start.

It was getting dark and neither Dawn or Cordelia knew where they were. They even woke Buffy and Willow up to no avail. The map was useless. It only showed highways and main streets.

"I think it's this way..." Cordelia inched her car through a slim, dark alleyway.

"Here?" Buffy asked incredulously.

"Not here. At the other end of the alley." Cordelia replied. "I can't believe I'm being _seen_ in a place like this..." She mumbled.

"Maybe we could ask for help, or directions." Dawn suggested, motioning to the people that were crowded in the alleyway.

Cordelia hadn't noticed before, but there was ALOT of people. And it looked like they were moving closer to the car.

"I don't think these people will be able to help us." Willow whispered, sounding very nervous. The other girls felt equally nervous. People were crowded in front of the car, keeping Cordelia from driving away- which was what she wanted to do. When they entered the glow of the car's headlights the girls could see their faces. Some were long and sorrowful looking, others wore mad, crazy expressions on their face.

"Uh, Cordy, I think we really need to be driving..." Buffy said watching one particularly crazy man walk closer and closer to her. His smile widened with each step he took towards the car.

Cordelia looked back and saw the looks of fear on her friend's faces. She smacked the car horn, letting it blare mercilessly until the surrounding people had backed off. Then she pushed the gas pedal with such force that the car went flyingout of the alley, onto the road past some turns and straight into the Days Inn parking lot.

"See?" Cordelia said, out of the breath. "I knew it was here." She hopped out of the car and closed the door. "I'll be right back."

The girls sat in silence, catching their breath. Cordelia returned to the car with two door keys.

"Just incase we split up at all." She explained. Buffy, Willow and Dawn got out of the car and went to the trunk to get their things.

"What are you doing?" Cordelia asked.

"Getting our things?" Willow asked, confused.

"Why? Just let the people who work here do that." Cordelia replied.

"Uhm, Cordy? I don't think they do that at the Days Inn." Buffy replied as gently as she could, not wanting to upset her. Cordelia was probably used to always being at fancy hotels that carry your bags for you.

"A little extra cash goes a long way." Was all she said before heading towards the building. Buffy just shrugged and the three girls fell into step behind her. Sure enough, five minutes after being in the room a tall brunette guy came in pushing a cart carrying all of their luggage. Cordelia tipped the man before he left. Basically the whole trip across the states was being funded by Cordelia's parents.

If you were staying at the Comfort Inn across from Days Inn and happened to be looking out your window around 10 P.M., you might see a pillow being thrown straight out the fourth floor window and onto the ground, then seconds later a giggling girl come to retrieve it. It was even funnier the second time it happened. They girls had only received two phone calls from the front desk concerning complaints about them, which, in their eyes, wasn't bad at all.

The next day they were back on the road again at 7A.M.

"I'll drive." Cordelia offered.

"Okay, as long as you promise not to drive into any dark alleys." Buffy half-joked.

"Duh, I definitely don't want to re-live _that_ experience."

After half and hour or so the girls were extremely bored.

"You wanna play a car game?" Dawn asked sluggishly. The answers she received were mostly negative grunts. "Yeah, me neither..."

Cordelia got tired of driving quickly and turned the wheel over to Willow. A few minutes later soft popping noises were coming from the back seat. Confused, Willow and Buffy looked back to see where they were they were coming from. It was Cordelia, half-asleep blowing bubbles with her gum and popping them. Buffy and Willow giggled. At first, it was funny, but after a while it, it was annoying. No one wanted to wake her up in fear of getting their head bitten off.

It had been going on for almost an hour. Buffy groaned and laid her head on the dashboard. Willow just concentrated on driving. Dawn was sleeping uncomfortably with her fingers shoved in her ears.

Buffy let Willow relax and took her turn driving again. That was when Dawn woke up.

"Mmmm...I have to go to the bathroom." Dawn whined in a sleepy voice.

"Okay, I'll get off at the nearest exit." Buffy promised. What she didn't know was that the nearest exit was forty miles away.

"I really have to go." Dawn said, sitting up straight.

"We're almost to an exit, just hang on." Buffy said, pushing on the gas pedal just a little bit harder.

Ten minutes later they had arrived at a smelly, run-down gas station. There were heaps of garbage lying around and half the building has rusted over.

"Eww..." Willow scrunched up her nose.

"I can't go _here_. It's gross." Dawn protested.

"Yeah, she might get a disease or something!" Cordelia piped up.

"Check it out- Sleeping Beauty's _alive_." Buffy joked.

Cordelia cracked a small smile. "Yeah, the smell woke me up."

"Thank God _something_ did..." Buffy mumbled.

"What?" Cordelia asked.

"Nothing." Buffy replied quickly. "Are you gonna go are what?" She asked Dawn.

"No way, I'd rather pee on a bush."

"Suit yourself." Buffy said as they pulled away from the gas station. She was heading back towards the highway when she swerved to the right and stopped by a thick grove of trees and bushes.

"Go ahead, Dawn." Buffy urged.

"Are you serious!" Dawn squeaked.

"Well, you said you'd rather pee on a bush and look- bushes!"

"Buffy, please don't make me..." Dawn pleaded.

"I can't _make_ you do anything. But it might be awhile until I'm able to stop at another gas station." Buffy warned.

"Okay, okay...I'll go." Dawn reluctantly got out of the car and disappeared in the woods. She returned a few mintues later. "Well, that was an experience."

"Buffy chuckled. "Yeah, I'll bet."

They continued to drive when Buffy noticed the change of atmosphere.

"I think a storm's coming." Buffy observed. "Maybe we should pull the top up."

"No, we can't put it up unless it's an emergency." Cordelia replied.

"Why?"

"Because...It's kinda broken." Cordelia said.

Buffy just looked at her with a confused expression on her face.

"Well, remember my ex-boyfriend, Jordan? He and I were kinda making out, and...well...nevermind- it's just broken." Cordelia glanced up at the sky. Little rain drops were beginning to fall on them.

"Can we put the top up now? It looks worse up ahead." Willow tried to convince Cordelia. The rain was beginning to fall harder and Cordelia still hadn't answered.

"Cordy!" Buffy screeched. "How can I drive if I can't see!"

"Okay, okay, you can pull it up." Cordelia replied grumpily. She, Dawn and Willow all reached back to try and pull the top over the car.

"Jeez, Cordy, what did you _do_? This thing is so bent out of shape!" Willow shouted over the rain and thunder.

"Shut up!" Cordelia shot back defensively. After a couple of minutes they finally managed to pull the top over the car- despite it's condition. The four girls exchanged glances at eachother. All of them were soaking wet. Finally, Willow burst out in giggles followed by the other girls.

"Wow, just the road trip alone is giving us so many..._experiences_..." Buffy laughed.

After an hour or so the girls decided that it was someone else's turn to drive.

"Ooh! I haven't gone yet! Can I drive?" Dawn asked enthusiasticly.

Buffy was nervous, but agreed and Dawn was the next to take the wheel.

"Now, be careful over here, the road is really wet and slippery." Buffy cautioned.

"Okay, Mom." Dawn joked with a small smile. Actually Buffy was proud of Dawn's driving skills. They'd improved alot since the last time she'd seen her drive- which was when she crashed into a fence at the zoo and sent goats roaming free in the parking lot.

"Can we stop for food soon?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, I'm hungry too." Cordelia agreed. They'd stopped at a McDonald's, but that was over five hours ago.

"Uh...okay." Dawn said. She wasn't used to having the power while in the car, and Cordelia saw that.

"It's okay, you can just stop at the next exit and we'll crash someplace before it gets dark this time." Cordelia told Dawn. Dawn gave her an appreciative smile and turned into the next exit. They had made it into Kansas. The area looked nicer than where they stayed the night before. And there were no deranged, homeless people in sight, which was always a good sign.

They got Applebees To Go and headed straight for their hotel- The Holiday Inn. Cordelia did the same thing as the night before- Let someone who worked at the hotel bring the bags up, then she tipped him. The girls ate, watched tv for a little while, then decided to go swimming.

Willow went into the bathroom to change first and came out wearing an emerald green halter bikini.

"Whoa, do we know you?" Buffy asked, grinning widely.

"Shut up." Willow said, blushing.

"It looks great, Will. really." Cordelia smiled approvingly.

"Thanks."

"Ok, Buffy's turn." Dawn replied.

Buffy, Dawn and Cordelia changed into their bikinis as well.

Dawn's was purple and blue, Buffy's was a pastel pink and Cordelia's was an ocean blue color.

"Yours looks good, but I'm so fat..." Cordelia mumbled as she closed the room door behind her.

"You are _not_ fat." Willow said sternly.

"Not as fat as me, anyway." Dawn cut in.

"Guys, guys, we've had this conversation before, remember? And we agreed that _I'm_ the fat one." Buffy said as they stepped into the elevator.

"You're the skinniest of all of us!" Willow protested.

"No, I'm not, you are, Will." Buffy replied with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Am not."

Suddenly the elevator doors opened and a middle-aged man in a blue bussiness suit stepped into the elevator. There was an awkward silence. When they reached the first floor the man got off.

"Well, that was weird." Cordelia observed after the man was out of sight. The headed to the pool, which was surprisingly empty. they swam for about an hour _mostly _uninterrupted. An elderly man came and swam with them for a while and hit on Cordy, but other than that...nothing.

Later that night when everyone was in bed, Cordelia spoke up. "This is Kansas, right?"

"Yes." Buffy replied sleepily.

"What if the hotel gets picked up by a tornado, like in the Wizard of Oz?" Cordelia asked frantically.

"It wont- trust me. It won't be able to lift our fat bodies." Buffy mumbled groggily into the pillow. "G'night..."

"Goodnight."

Needless to say, a tornado didn't come and pick up the hotel, but still, Cordelia didn't get much sleep. Willow volunteered to drive first.For awhile Willow was the only one awake. Which made sense- It was only four A.M. They wanted to get an early start today and get close to North Carolina, that way they wouldn't have to drive much the last day, and could spend more time doing other things.

Willow was concentrating on the road when something ran across the road. Willow had to swerve off to the side to avoid hitting it. Unfortunately, the bumpy ride woke everyone up and nearly gave them all heart-attacks.

"What the HELL just happened!" Cordelia demanded once the car was stopped on the side of the highway.

"Something just ran in front of the car. I didn't wanna hit it." Willow said softly.

"We could've dealed with PETA later! You could've killed us!" Cordelia shouted.

"What would you have done, Cordy?" Buffy asked, coming to Willow's defense.

"Well...I..." Cordelia trailed off. "Sorry, Will."

"Don't worry about it." Willow replied.

The three girls looked over to see if Dawn was knocked unconsious when they saw her leaning out of the car making cooing sounds.

"What is it, Dawn?" Buffy asked.

"It's a puppy." Dawn replied, still leaning out of the car. The other girls looked over to see.

"Aww, it's so cute!" Willow exclaimed.

"He must be what ran across the road." Cordelia concluded.

"Oh, can we keep him?" Dawn asked hopefully.

"He's not that cute!" Cordelia answered.

Buffy, Willow and Dawn all turned to stare at her.

"Okay, okay, he _is_ that cute...But I can't have a dog in my car! Besides, it could be someone elses."

"He has no tags...And it looks like he hasn't been groomed since...ever." Dawn replied.

"Can we keep him, Cordy? Pleeeease?" Buffy looked over at Cordelia with puppy eyes, soon followed by Willow and Dawn's puppy eyes.

"Okay! Fine! But he _has_ to stay in the back seat, got it?" Cordelia gave in. She couldn't help it. The puppy was adorable.

"Yay!" Dawn opened the car door and scooped the puppy inside.

"I just wanna make it perfectly clear, that if this dog does his business in my car there's gonna be hell to pay." Cordelia warned.

"Gotcha."

Willow pulled back onto the highway.

"What kind of dog is it?" Cordelia asked Dawn.

"He looks like a beagle."

"He needs a name." Willow said, glancing back at the dog, who was so excited that he was trotting back and forth over Cordelia's and Dawn's lap.

"How about Snoopy?" Buffy suggested.

They all agreed on the name.

"Are you sure your aunt and uncle won't be mad that we brought a dog?" Buffy asked.

"Nah, they've got three dogs already. They won't care." Willow replied.

On their next quick bathroom stop they bought a small bag of dog food for Snoopy.

When they crossed the border into Missouri, everyone was asleep except for Buffy, who was driving, and Willow, who was also in the front seat.Willow glanced in the backseat to see how Dawn and Cordelia were doing. Dawn was curled up in a tight little ball and Cordelia was in the corner with Snoopy curled up sleeping in her lap.

"Now,_ that's _a Kodak moment." Willow commented, motioning towards Cordelia and Snoopy.

Buffy shot a glance at them. "Aww!" Buffy squealed quietly, not wanting to wake them up.

"I'm gonna take a picture." Willow said, digging through a bag that was by her feet.

"If Cordy wakes up she's gonna kill you!" Buffy whispered.

"She's a heavy sleeper. Rememeber when we used to do all those pranks to her at our sleepovers?" Willow asked, still looking for her camera.

Buffy giggled. "Oh yeah...Remember when she'd scream at us the next morning?"

"Yeah, but it was _so_ worth it." Willow smiled as she pulled her disposable camera from her bag and turned around to face the backseat. She snapped the picture, half-hoping that Cordelia would wake up, because it would be funny to watch her rant. But she slept on, like a rock.

After a couple of hours of Buffy and Willow switching off driving, Cordelia finally woke up.

"What smells like dog?" Cordelia asked.

"You." Willow replied simply, pointing to Snoopy.

"Oh. Right." She picked up the puppy and set in on Dawn's lap.

She switched places with Willow and got behind the wheel again.

"When Dawn wakes up she can move to the front seat and you can go in the back to sleep." Cordelia told Buffy as she got into the driver's seat.

"Huh? Wha-?" Dawn lifted her head up off the seat.

"Which is right now." Cordelia replied. Dawn and Buffy switched and it was Buffy and Willow's turn to sleep.

Willow was a light sleeper and she awoke when she heard a voice. She cracked her eyes open. It sounded like Buffy, but she was asleep... There it was again. Willow stared at Buffy intently. She could hear her talking. She sat up and tried to listen.

"What's she doing?" Willow asked Dawn.

"She's been sleep-talking. It's kinda funny to listen to her." Dawn replied with a smile.

So Willow listened.

"Mmm...all the mini-pickles...are grey...why are they grey? They were green yesterday..."

Willow stifled a giggle and she could hear Dawn and Cordelia doing the same.

Snoopy walked over to Buffy and started licking her hand.

"Mmm...violation! Code 334...Can't you see this man is violating me?" Buffy mumbled. Willow reached over and plucked the dog off Buffy.

"Did you drink the last of the Corona? Because I was saving it and now it's all gone...all gone..."

"Check the fridge." Willow said to her, waiting for a response.

"Oh! There it is! I knew it was here somewhere...Now all I have to do is find..find my pants..and we can go drinking..."

Willow giggled quietly, deciding to leave her best-friend alone, in a dream-world of bliss, pickles and Corona.

The headed South a little bit and drove through Tennessee. Around seven P.M. they found a hotel to stay at right near the border of North Carolina.they hd to sneak Snoopy into the hotel, which was fairly easy. The girls watched a movie and went to bed early, needing all the rest they could get.

They left the next morning around six feeling refreshed and ready to get to North Carolina.

"Hot guys, here we come!" Buffy said as she hopped into the back seat with Willow. Dawn was driving again.

"Let's sing a song or something." Dawn suggested.

Buffy and Willow looked at each other knowingly then burst into song. "Ninety- nine bottles of beer on the wall, Ninety-nine bottles of beeeer! Take one down, pass it around!"

"Shhhhh!" Cordelia held her finger to her lips, but she was smiling. "Remember what happened last time we did that?"

"Yeah, some dude gave us the finger." Buffy said with a small laugh.

"I remember when I was ten I waved at an old couple and they gave me the finger. It was kinda funny." Willow smiled.

"The Hellmouth has turned the elderly against us!" Buffy joked with mock-surprise.

All four girls cheered when they drove over the border into North Carolina.

"We're almost there!" Dawn squealed excitedly.

"Yeah, only three hours, which isn't much, considering how much we drove the past three days." Buffy replied.

Snoopy, in Willow's arms, leaned his head into the wind and stuck his tongue out playfully. Willow grinned and petted him affectionately.

Eventually Buffy and Willow fell asleep in the back seat. Cordelia and Dawn swictched places so that Dawn could rest while Cordelia drove.

Soon, Cordelia pulled into a tidy-looking little developement called Island Green. All of the houses were in neat little rows.

"Dawn?" Cordelia nudged the girl in the seat next to her.

"Huh?" Dawn asked groggily. She hadn't been asleep, but she was close to it.

"We're here. We just need to find the house." Cordelia said. They had made it there in good time. It was only four- thirty. This was it. The road trip was finally over.


	4. Chapter 3 Hit the Beach

Chapter Three: Hit the Beach

A/N: This chapter was written by Willowzlilsecret. Both Willowzlilsecret and Ozlover would like to thank everyone who gave us encouraging reviews so far- This chapter is for you. Enjoy! Also...about the fic being Bangel or Spuffy...:In a sing-songy voice: We're not telling...;)

"Well, looks like Willow and Buffy are dead to the world," Dawn stated, glancing back at her sister and Willow.

"Yeah, and I don't know where I'm going." Cordelia said.

"Do you want me to wake Willow up?" Dawn asked, turning to wake the older girl.

"Nah, I'll figure it out, no worries, I have the directions right here…somewhere." Cordelia said smiling.

"Well, try to stay in the Carolinas…also the directions are right here." Dawn joked.

"Oh, don't worry." Cordelia said. They drove in a rather awkward silence for about five minutes.

"So…do you know if we're sharing rooms?" Dawn asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah I think so, seeing as how there are like ten of us and like four bedrooms." Cordelia answered.

"Oh…cool." Dawn said and they lapsed into another silence. Long Pause. "Would you share a room with me?" Dawn asked, finally.

"Don't you wanna room with Buffy?" Cordelia asked. It wasn't that she didn't like Dawn, she just didn't know her very well.

"Not really…she didn't want to bring me in the first place, and I don't want to ruin her trip even more…" short pause "Now that I think about it, you'd probably want to share a room with your friends or sleep along…yeah never mind." Dawn babbled, suddenly feeling nervous. She didn't want to pressure Cordy into ruining her vacation.

"No, it'd be cool if we shared a room; I just always kinda thought you didn't like me. And I thought you'd rather be with your sister." Cordelia explained. 'Maybe we could become friends…she strikes me as the type that can keep a secret,' Cordelia said to herself.

"You mean it?" Dawn asked excitedly, and to that Cordelia smiled and nodded. She suddenly made a sharp turn into the driveway of a big house.

"We're here!" she announced joyously and Dawn turned around to wake Buffy and Willow up.

"Just five more minutes!" Willow complained. Buffy didn't say anything, she just sorta growled.

"Guys, we're here." Dawn repeated, this time with less enthusiasm.

"We are?" Willow asked. "Oh thank God, I've had to pee for like five hours!" Willow unbuckled her seatbelt and Cordelia opened the trunk. Willow grabbed her stuff and stretched. She was so glad they were finally there. She could smell the salt water and hear the ocean in the background. She stretched as she waited for everyone else to catch up. Cordelia stopped the car and grabbed her stuff along with Buffy and Dawn. All the other cars were already there. Cordelia locked the car and they knocked on the door.

A woman, Willow's aunt, opened the door. "Hi, Aunt Jenny!" Willow exclaimed. She gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, then announced that she'd introduce everyone after they picked their rooms. Aunt Jenny nodded. The four girls headed up to their rooms.

"I'm sharing a room with Dawn." Cordelia announced. Buffy was a little hurt that Cordelia would pick her sister over her, but at the same time she was glad that she could hang out with Willow without worrying about her little sister.

"Ok, we'll take this one and you guys can take the one next to us." Willow said. "Just set your stuff down and then we'll meet everyone, then we'll unpack and just do whatever the guys are doing." All the girls agreed and went into their rooms.

Both of the rooms looked exactly alike. Two twin beds with blue "ocean waves" covers. On the top of the bed there were about seven pillows. Some matched the bedspread and others were solid blue. There was one closet in the corner and two dressers. Both dressers held the same amount of clothes, but one was shorter. The shorter one had a mirror behind it and a TV set on it. Everything was painted an off white, except for the TV. There was a nightstand between the beds and it held a lamp. The base of the lamp was blue-stained wicker and the lampshade was white. There were only two windows in the whole room, one behind the nightstand, and one randomly on the wall next to that.

Dawn picked the bed on the right and Cordelia picked the bed on the left. They also claimed their dressers and decided to share the closet. Cordelia chose the shorter dresser so that she could use the mirror to put on her make up easier. That left Dawn no choice but to take the big one. Not that she cared, but she didn't have a mirror behind hers.

Willow and Buffy decided on dressers first. They agreed that anyone could use the closet, it didn't matter. After much deciding and agreements, Buffy got the littler dresser and the bed on the left. Willow got the bigger dresser and the bed on the right. All four of the girls left their pillows from home on the bed with the other pillows. Cordelia and Buffy both put their bags in front of the dresser, but Dawn and Willow put them on their beds. They all headed downstairs together to meet everyone.

"Hey Aunt Jenny, Uncle Giles!" Willow said as they went down the stairs. She gave them each a hug. When all four of the girls were down the stairs and standing in the kitchen, Willow started the introduction.

"This is my uncle, Rupert Giles." Willow said and pointed to a middle-aged man reading the newspaper and sipping tea.

"Oh, hello." the man said with a British accent. He removed his glasses and stuck out his hand. "You all can call me Giles."

"Cordelia…Chase." Cordelia said and shook his hand.

"Buffy Summers." Buffy said, also shaking his hand.

"Dawn Summers…I'm the little sister." Dawn said and also shook his hand.

"And this is my aunt, Jenny Calendar-Giles." Willow said. "Hi guys…don't worry…we're not all as stuffy and British as Rupert." she laughed. The girls nodded, unsure of what to say.

"So where's Xander and the guys? Are they down in the basement?" Willow asked.

"No, actually, since it their first time here, Xander took them down to the beach." Jenny informed her.

"Oh, ok, then we're just gonna head down to the beach and join them." Willow told her. Jenny nodded then went back to her 'People' magazine. The girls headed back upstairs.

"Ok, so let's unpack, get in our swim suits, and meet these hotties!" Buffy said. Everyone agreed and started giggling. Buffy and Cordelia started unpacking, moving faster than lightning. Dawn and Willow on the other hand…let's just say they weren't as excited.

Within five minutes, Cordelia was almost totally unpacked and was putting on her bathing suit. Buffy was moving a little slower, and Dawn even slower still. But Willow was moving slowest of all. And so they finished in that order. They grabbed their towels and ran downstairs, and when they were halfway out the door, Jenny called to them…

"Do you guys have sunscreen on? You'll fry if you don't!" All the girls stopped in their tracks and began groaning. None of them had sunscreen on and none of them wanted to wait any longer before they met the guys.

"Ok, Aunt Jenny." Willow said, annoyed. They all walked up to Willow and Buffy's room and started helping each other put sun block on. They finally finished five minutes later, and Dawn, Buffy, and Cordelia pretended to be mad at Willow.

"I'm sorry!" Willow said putting her hands up, "But just be glad…you don't want to look like a lobster for the guys."

"Oh, my, God." Cordelia said. "You are sooo right!" The four girls tried for the second time to go down to the beach.

"Willow, honey, could you do me a favor." Jenny asked. Willow turned around and practically growled at her aunt.

"What is it Aunt Jenny?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"Well, the boys have been down there for a while, why don't you have Bunny over there carry down some bottled water—"

"It's Buffy." Willow corrected.

"Right…so have Bunny get the water, Dawn bring some extra towels, Cordelia take down the umbrella, and you take these sandwiches." her aunt finished.

They all did as they were told and hurried out the door before anyone else could ask them to do anything.

"My God your aunt is annoying." Cordelia said.

"How in the world did she get 'bunny'?" Dawn asked, laughing.

"Ugh…I get the feeling this might be a long summer." Buffy said as they walked down the boardwalk.

Then Cordelia spotted Xander. "Or maybe not!" she exclaimed.

"Xander!" Willow yelled and ran down towards him, flinging herself into his arms.

"Willow! It's been forever!" he said and hugged her. The two stood hugging and Cordelia, Buffy, and Dawn approached from behind Willow and three guys approached from behind Xander. The cousins let go of each other and Xander started checking the other girls out.

"Who are you and why didn't I meet you until now?" Xander asked as he circled Cordelia. She posed for him and blew him a kiss.

Willow smiled and hit him lightly on the arm. "Xander! That's my best friend, Cordelia." she informed him. He smiled a goofy smile and winked at her as he stepped away.

Unfortunately Cordelia wasn't interested in Xander. She was interested in the tall brunette standing behind him. The guy made no move to talk to her, but she did notice that he and Buffy had made eye contact and he was obviously mesmerized by her. Oh well, Xander's pretty cute! she told herself and smiled.

"So, Willow, you've met Connor and Angel," Xander said gesturing to the two brothers, "Now meet the infamous Oz."

All of the girls looked to where Xander was pointing. There stood a rather short guy. He had reddish blond hair and emerald green eyes. The same color as Willow's bathing suit. He had a slight build, nothing too 'WWE' buff. But good enough. Willow fell in love.

"Hey." He said and put his hand up in a small wave. All of the girls were beautiful, but one caught his eye. The redhead. Xander's cousin. She was just…whoa. Oz leaned over to Connor and said softly. "Remind me to talk to the redhead."

Connor smiled and nodded. Then he walked up to Buffy. She was really out of it. She and his brother were having a staring contest. It was really intense. I wonder if she knows he has a girlfriend…Connor said to himself.

Dawn's breath had quickened. She had decided which one she liked the best. Now, he wasn't the one that Janice would've picked, but she liked him. He had longish brown hair and blue eyes. He was kinda small and girly, but he did have muscles. He didn't have full-blown abs like Angel or Xander, but he was soo cute. Like Snoopy. And she had to have him. Then he went over to Buffy. And her heart literally fell a thousand feet.

Of course he'd like Buffy. But then…

He walked up to Dawn and held out his hand. "I'm Connor, Angel's brother."

"Dawn." she said, sounding more nervous then she wanted to. He smiled a little half smile and grasped her hand. 

"Let's swim." he suggested, letting go of her hand. She bit her lip and nodded. The two ran off towards the water together…Dawn only slowed to see how cold the water was.

Willow and Cordelia smiled at eachother, glad to see that Dawn's vacation was going to be so bad after all. Now, by this time Xander, Oz, Willow, and Cordelia had caught on to Buffy and Angel's staring thing.

Xander put his arm around Willow and whispered to her. "Angel has a girlfriend…Darla…you might want to tell Buffy that…cause Darla's gonna stay with us for a week very soon."

"Oh no." Willow said, afraid to hurt Buffy. She wasn't sure if Buffy liked him, but if she did…well…

"Yeah, so me and Oz are just gonna go and swim. Cause that's what you do at the beach. Join us if you want." Xander said and shot Cordelia a 'you especially' look. She smiled brightly at him.

"I think me and Willow are gonna throw a Frisbee. And you two can join when you're done swimming." Cordelia said.

The guys walked away.

"OH MY GOSH! I THINK I'M IN LOVE!" Willow said excitedly.

"With your cousin?" Cordelia asked. Both of them had forgotten that Buffy and Angel were still standing there. It's not like either of them were tuned in to the world.

"EW! NO!" she shouted, then lowered her voice… "With Oz!"

"You two would be so cute together." Cordelia observed. "Plus he's short!"

"Hey!" Willow objected, laughing. Buffy finally snapped out of it and turned away. Angel turned around and ran towards the guys shouting for them to wait up.

"What's so funny?" Buffy asked.

"I like Oz and Cordy called him short." Willow said, summing the conversation up.

"Ha, ha?" Buffy asked.

"So…Buffy…you and Angel were kinda…you don't like him do you?" Willow asked, having trouble talking.

"No…I don't like him…why would you think that?" Buffy lied. She hated lying to Willow but she usually waited a while before she told anyone who she liked. And she especially didn't want to tell Cordelia.

"I don't. I just had to make sure, cause he has a boyfriend." Willow said.

"A boyfriend?" Cordelia asked, appalled. Something as hot as that…just…no…

"GIRLFRIEND! I meant girlfriend. And Buffy, she's staying with us for a week next week." Willow said.

Buffy was crushed. "Oh...that's cool…I guess. I'm just gonna take a nice little nap on my towel…don't leave me here." She sat down and curled up into a little ball. She couldn't believe she thought he liked her too.

Willow and Cordelia exchanged concerned looks, but decided they should probably leave her alone. They picked up a Frisbee and went near the water to begin throwing it.

Angel watched as Connor and some young girl played around in the water. He was amazed at how the two had an instant connection. Connor would let the girl dunk him under the water…he wouldn't let anyone else do that. And the girl let him pick her up and throw her into the waves. They looked like they had known eachother for years where in reality it had only been minutes.

Angel watched them and briefly wished he had a connection with a girl. A connection like theirs. But you did…with Buffy, he told himself. But he couldn't think like that…he had a girlfriend and that girlfriend was coming to visit them in only two weeks. He sighed and was taken by surprise as Oz and Xander attacked him from behind. They pushed him under the water, and, yes it did take two of them to get him under.

Dawn wrapped her arms around Connors neck and kicked her feet so that she could keep from going under. Connor was about six inches taller than her and could easily keep his head above the water, seeing as he was standing on his tip toes.

"I know that we're only going to be together this summer but…do you wanna go out with me." Connor asked, sounding shy. Dawn smiled brilliantly and nodded. And she was the first of the four to have a boyfriend that summer. She hugged him close and they stayed there hugging for what seemed like forever. 

Buffy was still sitting on her towel and she watched her friends. They were all happy and smiling and she was down. She had the feeling that her summer would've been better if she had just stayed at home. Back home she had a guy that wanted to date her, and lots of junk food. Here she had…well lots of junk food and a guy that didn't want to date her. She sighed and closed her eyes.

Cordelia and Willow threw the Frisbee back and forth endless times. And then it went in the water, landing close to Xander.

"I'll get it." Cordelia said. She was beginning to form a small crush on Xander, but she didn't want to tell Willow. There was the whole ick-factor of them being cousins. But she didn't know who she would tell. 

Half An Hour Later

The sun was setting and it was getting dark and the eight teens headed back to the house.

They were all tired from their long days of driving, swimming, and just running around and hanging. They let all the dogs in with them and ate dinner in almost complete silence. 

Dawn and Connor sat next to each other and held hands under the table…they wanted to keep everything a secret, although it was bordering on rather obvious.

Buffy and Angel sat across from each other, glancing at each other every now and then. Both of them felt something but neither of them wanted to say anything.

Xander and Cordelia shot each other smiles, but no one else saw them. So I guess they could be considered secretive smiles.

And Willow and Oz just glanced at each other, neither of them really noticing the other looking at them. And if they did get caught then they'd smile and go back to eating.

And Giles and Jenny just ate…oblivious of the goings ons around the table. Giles drinking his tea and occasionally wiping his glasses, and Jenny just eating and occasionally throwing scraps to the dogs.

All of them went to their rooms. Willow and Buffy changed into their pjs and sat on Willows bed.

"He's just soo handsome and I hope he likes me too cause I think I'm in love!" Willow gushed.

"Will…we have a situation. Buffy might like Angel." Buffy said softly.

"Oh no…well he likes you!" Willow said.

"He has a girlfriend, Will." Buffy pointed out.

"Yeah…but maybe if you show him that you guys are meant to be, he'll dump his girlfriend for you." Willow said hopefully.

"I guess…" Buffy sighed.

"I know it! Come on, and put a smile on. Your smile is something no one can resist!" Willow encouraged.

"Ok…thanks Will." Buffy said and the two girls hugged. Buffy returned to her own bed and literally fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. It had been a long day and she had a new one ahead of her. And she would get Angel.

Dawn and Cordelia both were still up, sitting on Dawn's bed. Dawn still hadn't changed out of her bathing suit…just because.

"So…what'd you do today?" Dawn asked.

"Well…I played Frisbee…and…I have a secret…" Cordelia said.

"Who else knows your secret?" Dawn asked.

"Me." Cordelia answered. "And now you're gonna know."

"Really?" Dawn asked, amazed that Cordelia would trust her. "Cause I have one too."

"Yeah…I think I like Xander." Cordelia said. "What's yours?"

"Well…me and Connor are gonna like…date eachother…is it obvious?" Dawn asked.

"A little." Cordelia said, smiling weakly.

"Will you give me a lesson on how to be more secretive?" Dawn asked.

"Sure…but wait till tomorrow morning." Cordelia said. "I'm gonna get to sleep, I want to see the sun rise over the ocean and take a walk."

"Can I come?" Dawn asked.

"Sure if you can get up early enough." Cordelia answered.

Dawn agreed and they both fell asleep. And the house was silent except for a little bit of barking and doggy nails scraping against the floor as they ran around.


	5. Chapter 4 Playing Roles

Chapter 4: Playing Roles

A/N:This chapter was written by Ozlover. To answera question- This fic was written by two authors- Willowzlilsecret and Ozlover. Together, we share the penname- VampGrlz. If I accidentally wrote Angelzbabygrl or frenchtoast101, I'm sorry- those are our pennames at a different site. Also, the next three chapterswere written by Willowzlilsecret, because Ozlover was on vacation. Just so ya know. You asked again and you recieved again- Enjoy. ;)

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Willow lay in her bed that night staring up at the off-white ceiling. It was one in the morning and she'd woken up to Buffy singing the "Wanna Fanta?" commercial in her sleep a couple of minutes ago.

"Angel, do_ you_ wanna fanta?" Buffy mumbled into her pillow.

_Poor Buffy_. Willow thought. _She's in love with someone who's taken._ But she knew that Buffy would be able to win him away from his girlfriend. After all, no one could resist her smile.

Willow decided that she couldn't take Buffy's half-intelligible rambles, so she dragged herself out of bed. She wasn't planning on seeing anyone downstairs so she didn't bother to change out of her short, black gym shorts and black tank top that were currently playing the role of her pj's. She closed the door softly behind her and headed downstairs into the kitchen to get a snack.

She was rummaging through a cabinet when she heard a noise behind her. On instinct, she grabbed a knife off of the kitchen counter and turned around to face...

"Oops!" Willow's hand flew to her mouth when she saw Oz standing in front of her looking mildly bewildered, yet intriuged at the same time. "Sorry..."

"It's okay...I just wasn't expecting that." Oz said.

"It was some weird reflex I had..." Willow trailed off. She was obviously embarrassed for holding a knife to her crush.

"Well, it's good to be cautious." Oz said with a smile.

Willow laughed softly and continued to search the cabinet. Oz couldn't help but scan his eyes over her body. She was slender and well-toned. Her pretty red hair barely covered her back above the tank top she was wearing. Willow turned around holding a bag of chips.

"Chips? At one in the morning?" Oz asked, smiling.

"Yup. You want some?" Willow asked.

"Sure." Oz sat down at the table across from Willow and they passed the chip bad back and forth.

"You never told me what you were doing up this early." Willow said, glancing over at him.

"I couldn't sleep." Was all Oz said. There was a long silence.

"I bet you're glad to be here after driving for four days." Oz said.

"Definitely. The trip was crazy. One night, Cordy drove through this dark alley and all these creepy, homeless people surrounded the car and were trying to get to us." Willow said all in one breath. Oz thought it was cute how excited she got when telling the story.

"Then what happened?" He asked.

"Well, Cordy blasted the horn and nearly ran them all over. But at least we made it out alive."

Oz chuckled softly. "That's always a plus."

Willow told Oz more things that happened on the road trip, then they both agreed that they should be getting back to bed.

"Goodnight, Oz." Willow said when they were at her and Buffy's room.

"Goodnight, Willow."

Hearing him say her name sent shivers up and down her spine. She smiled to herself and went into the room. Once the door was closed she squealed quietly.

"There's a piggy in here..." Buffy mummered.

"Oh, shush." Willow said, still smiling.

"I will when you tell me where you were." Buffy said as she rolled over to look at Willow, proving that she was awake.

"Did Angel wanna fanta?" Willow asked slyly.

"Yeah, he did actually...Wait. How do you know about my dream?" Buffy asked.

"You were kinda sleep-talking."

"Oh." Buffy giggled, then stopped abruptly. "Don't change the subject." She said with a stern look on her face that was beginning to crack with a smile. "Where were you?" She asked again.

Willow told Buffy about how she and Oz were downstairs, and how she almost attacked him with a knife.

"It's a good statement, really." Buffy insisted. "'I love you and if you don't love me back you can die. At my hands. From a knife wound."

Willow playfully shoved her. "It was an _accident_. I was defending myself."

"Sure you were." Buffy said with a smirk.

Willow hated to bring it up, but she knew she had to...

"Are you gonna talk to Angel tomorrow? Or...actually...today?" She asked.

Buffy sighed. "I have no choice. I want him so badly, Will."

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure his girlfriend can't, in any way, compare to you." Willow said confidently.

Buffy smiled weakly.

"Now, c'mon. Let's get some sleep. We don't wanna look like walking zombies tomorrow." Willow said, only half-joking.

The girls said their goodnights and went back to bed.

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A few hours later, Cordelia was climbing out of bed. It was still dark, but the sun would be rising sometime soon and she didn't want to miss it.

"Dawn? C'mon, we have to get up now if we want to catch the sunrise over the water." She said, gently shaking the younger girl.

"Mmm? Oh, yeah...I'll be up in a sec..." Dawn said, pulling the covers over her head.

"We have to go _now_." Cordelia said while throwing on a white lace cami and a long, thin beige skirt.

"Mmmmmkay." Dawn practically fell out of bed, then jolted up. "I'm good." She walked over to her dresser and pulled a crimson tank top on and a pair of khaki shorts.

"Let's go." Cordelia slipped on a white pair of sandals and Dawn slid into pink flip-flops. Cordelia headed out with Dawn at her heels.

"Are you-"

"Shhh!" Cordelia held a finger to her lips. Dawn had forgotten that the rest of the people in the house were still asleep.

"Are you going to teach me how to be more secretive about my relationship with Connor?" Dawn whispered. Cordelia nodded as they slipped out the back door. She knew the sun would be rising any minute now and she wanted to be right there when it happened.

"C'mon!" Cordelia shouted as she took off running towards the beach. Dawn was close behind her. Soon they were at the water's egde and the two girls sat down on the sand, letting the cool, fresh water wash over their feet.

"We made it." Dawn said, breathing heavily.

"Look." Cordelia said, tilting her head out towards the ocean. Dawn looked and was amazed at what she saw.

The sun's golden rays were barely peaking over the surface of the ocean, giving everything a golden-yellow glow. The sun was rising by the minute. Soon the whole ocean was set ablaze with oranges, reds, pinks and yellows. The clouds in the sky were also tinted with orange and pink. The bright rays seemed to push away the blackness of night to bring forth a new day. It was the most breathtaking thing either of the girls had ever seen.

"Wow." was all Cordelia was able to say. Dawn didn't say anything.

Soon the sun had risen over the water and continued to paint the sky. Cordelia and Dawn got up and stretched their legs, getting ready to walk down the beach. It was awhile before either of them spoke. They were too taken aback by the amazing sunrise. Dawn ventured to speak first.

"So, what have you got to teach me?" She asked Cordelia.

"About being secretive about you and Connor?"

"Yes." Dawn replied.

"Okay, first off, I know it'll be hard for you, but you can't be hanging all over him."

Dawn made a disappointed sound.

"It'll be too obvious if you do!"

"Okay, okay...What else do I need to know?"

"You need to have normal conversations with him. No hard-core flirting. Or,...Any noticeable flirting. Just talk to him like you'd talk to Xander."

Dawn nodded in understanding.

"Anything else?" She asked.

Cordelia thought for a moment. "If he asks to do something with you when there's other people around, don't act overly-excited. Just act natural. That's the best advice I can give you."

"Thanks, Cordy." Dawn said, trying out the girl's nickname. Cordelia smiled and they continued to walk along the beach.

Meanwhile, Connor, Oz and Willow were at the kitchen table eating cereal. Willlow glanced at the blue clock hanging on the wall.

"Maybe I should go wake Buffy up. She wanted me to get her up early. I'll be back." Willow said as she left the kitchen and went upstairs. Oz watched her go.

"You've got it bad." Connor observed. "I can tell by the way you look at her."

"Yeah." Oz answered dreamily. Well, as dreamily as someone like Oz could.

"And _everyone _can tell you've got it bad for Buffy's sister." Oz replied.

"Dawn." Connor sighed. He mentally debated whether or not to tell oz that he and Dawn were going out. He decided against it. He wasn't sure if Dawn wanted people to know.

000Meanwhile, in Buffy and Willow's room..000

"Buffy..." Willow groaned, shaking her best friend gently. "Get up." It was no use. She was glued to the bed. Then Willow saw something. "Angel's outside."

"Where?" Buffy shot out of bed and scrambled to the window. No one was there.

"Hey...He's not out there."

"Huh. He was a second ago." Willow replied innocently.

"Sure..." Buffy leaned against the wall by the window and sighed. "I don't know what to do! I thought I did...but I'm so lost. Will, I don't know if I can even talk to him."

"But you have to! He likes you, I know it!" Willow protested.

"Maybe he does...But everytime I see him I'm gonna see the word "TAKEN' stamped in red on his forehead!"

"Oh, Buffy..."

Buffy was about to tell Willow that maybe she should've stayed home to avoid the drama. "I probably shoul'dve..." She was distracted when she saw that Angel really _was_ outside. "God, he has a nice butt."

Willow was confused until she followed Buffy's dreamy gaze out the window. Buffy continued to stare.

"C'mon, he'll see you!" Willow giggled as she tried to tug Buffy away from the window. Buffy finally dropped her gaze and followed Willow to the door.

"You know, I am gonna talk to him today." Buffy said with resolution in her voice.

"Wow. It's amazing how one look at his butt can change your whole attitude." Willow smiled.

"What can I say? It was _nice_." The girls giggled and headed down to the kitchen. By this time, Xander had joined them at the kitchen table.

"Why so giggley, girls?" Xander asked.

Buffy and Willow just exchanged glances and continued to giggle. Dawn and Cordy came in ten minutes later. Connor tried not to stare. Dawn looked gorgeous. Her crimson shirt really set off the color of her lips...Ok, he had to stop. He was staring. Connor tore his eyes away from her and cleaned the place where he'd been sitting at the table. He had something to ask Dawn, but he decided he would wait until they were alone together.

"Where's Angel?" Dawn asked, when she realized that someone was missing.

"He's outside doing who knows what." Xander answered.

Buffy nudged Willow's arm lightly, smiled and said. "I'm gonna go for a walk."

Willow smiled knowingly and silently wished her luck.

Buffy headed out the back way of the house, through the sliding glass door that led to a wooden patio overlooking the beach. She spotted Angel immediately and slowly walked over towards him. She inched up so that she was standing next to him. She hoped he didn't notice her.

"Hey." Angel said softly. Buffy was surprised to hear his voice. She hadn't heard him speak once while she was there.

"Hey." She returned. There was an awkward silence.

"When is your girlfriend coming?" Buffy asked nervously.

"Who told you?" He still hadn't turned to look at her.

"Well, Xander told Willow and she kinda told me." Buffy replied.

"She's coming in a week."

"Oh." Buffy said, trying not to sound disappointed.

There was another long silence.

"Why are you out here?" Angel asked.

"I wanted to find out if you could talk." Buffy lied. She could tell Angel was smiling.

"I don't mean right _here_. Why are you here on the Atlantic Coast. It can't be because you're looking for love." He said, finally turning a little bit to look at her.

"Well, Willow asked...Wait. Why can't I be looking for love?" Buffy asked, repeating his words.

"It doesn't matter..."

Buffy wanted to know badly. She had an idea...maybe he really did like her...She wanted to push him until he told her, but she didn't want to upset him.

"I'm gonna go further along the beach to where the snack vendor is. You wanna come?" She asked.

Angel shook his head. "But I'll be waiting here until you come back." He said, never taking his eyes off the sparkling, blue ocean.

Buffy smiled as she walked along the beach to where Willow took her yesterday. She entertained herslef with the idea that she and Angel would fall in love and he would dump his girlfriend for her, just like Willow said. Soon she was standing at the counter of the little snack cart.

Buffy scanned the display of snack foods. "Uh, I'll take two large bags of blue doritos, a bag of mini-pretzels, a large bag of cheetos and a small bag of plain chips, please." Buffy said.

The bleach blonde man that was facing the register turned around to face her. "That'll be thirteen forty-nine." He said with a slight British accent.

Buffy was caught offguard by his piercing blue eyes. "Uhh..oh!" She pulled fourteen dollars out of her pocket and handed the bills to the man.

"Your change is fifty-one cents." He handed her the change. She was strangely mesmerized by his eyes...

"Thanks, um, William." Buffy said, reading his name-tag.

"Huh? Oh." He chuckled. "No one calls me William. But the git I work for wouldn't let me put 'Spike' on the name tag."

"Spike? Is that a nickname?"

"Yeah. I don't know where it came from, really." Spike said. Buffy smiled. _She has a pretty smile..._ Spike observed.

"Oh!" Buffy exclaimed when she realized that she hadn't introduced herself. "I'm Buffy." She stuck out her hand and Spike shook it.

"Pleasure meeting you." Spike looked around. There was no one in line and he didn't see a guy that was looking for her...

"So, are you from around here?" He asked.

"No, actually. I'm from Southern California. Sunnydale. I'm just staying here with my friend. A-and her family." Buffy stumbled over her words. Spike told her that he was from England, and that's where his parents lived. He was in the United States trying to make a living. "Yeah, see what a good job I'm doing?"

"You've gotta start somewhere." Buffy replied.

"That's true..."

Buffy leaned against the cart and the two of them talked as if they were old friends. Then Buffy glanced back at her watch. They'd been talking for over an hour! And Angel was waiting for her back on the beach. She felt like Cinderella, having a good time, then suddenly having to rush away with no explaination.

"I-I have to go now." Buffy said, grabbing the snack food that had been sitting on the counter.

Spike was confused at her sudden change of attitude. he knew he was going out on a limb, but he really liked her...

"Can I atleast have your phone number?" He asked.

"Uh..." Buffy was going to say no, but she had really enjoyed talking to him...So she agreed and gave her cell phone number. And he gave her his apartment phone number.

"Bye!" Buffy called back to him as she jogged down the beach back towards where they were staying.

"Bye." Spike gave a small wave to her retreating form.

When Buffy approached the area around the house Angel was nowhere to be seen. Buffy smacked her head with her hand. "You had him...Why did you do that?" She continued to hit her head with the palm of her hand. "Stupid, stupid, stupid..." She stopped before entering the house. Willow was lounging on one of the couches.

"Buff, you're head's all red..." Willow was confused. "What happened? Why were you gone so long?"

Buffy told her what had happened with Angel.

"That's great! I knew he likes you!" Willow gushed.

"There's more." Buffy said, almost ashamed of what she did. She told Willow about how she met Spike and exchanged phone numbers.

"Oh boy. So, do you still like Angel?" Willow asked, concerned for her best friend.

"I don't know! Yeah...kinda...I'm more confused than ever, now!" Buffy buried her face in her hands and groaned.

"C'mon, let's go down to the beach." Willow said. "You need to get your mind off of guys."

"Okay...Where's Dawn?" Buffy asked.

"She's with Connor on the beach somewhere." Willow replied.

"They've been spending alot of time together." Buffy noticed. Willow just nodded. "Where's your lover?" Buffy asked slyly. Willow blushed.

"Shut up...And he's down by the beach too, playing football with Xander."

"And Cordelia?" Buffy asked.

"She's tanning...and watching Xander and Oz play football."

"Why are you inside?" Buffy asked.

"I was waiting for you." Willow answered.

"I'm glad _somebody_ did..." She said, thinking about Angel.

"Let's get changed."

Buffy and Willow changed into their bathingsuits, put sunscreen on and headed outside.

"Uh-oh, here comes trouble." Xander said, watching Buffy and Willow come running around the patio giggling. Oz looked over. They were poking each-other in the sides, then laughing. Willow jumped off the patio deck with Buffy right behind her. She poked Willow who screamed and started laughing.

"Hey, losers, get over here!" Cordelia called to the two giggling girls. Cordelia was laying on her back with her dark sunglasses covering her eyes. Buffy and Willow sneaked up on either side of her and poked her in the side. She jumped up and shrieked.

"Get back here!" Cordelia got up and the three girls engaged in a tickle war. Xander and Oz looked on in amusement.

After fifteen minutes of running around and poking each other, the three girls collapsed on Cordelia's over-sized towel, on which the three could easily fit.

"That's it? You're done now? And it was just getting good too..." Xander joked. The girls alternated between swimming, laying on the towel and even playing football with Xander and Oz. They only stopped to eat lunch, which was sandwiches that were thrown together at the last minute.

A few hours after lunch the girls plus Xander and Oz were sitting on the towel trading old stories.

"Remember when we all took ballet together?" Buffy asked.

Cordelia and Willow nodded. "Yeah, and then we took tap dancing."

"And we would always get in trouble because we wouldn't dance how we were supposed to. We were too amused with the click-y noises that our shoes made." Everyone laughed.

Meanwhile, farther down the beach dawn and Connor were walking alongside the ocean.

"So..." Connor started. "There's gonna be this party tomorow might at this beach house down a little ways, and...well...I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go with me?" He asked hopefully. Dawn had told Connor that she didn't want her friends to know about them just yet, and she feared that going to a party with him might reveal it.

"I'll think about it..." Dawn said, smiling. She looked out at the setting sun. She had seen the sun rising over the ocean and now she could see it setting. She hoped that Cordelia was watching it too.

"I guess we'd better be getting back to the house." Connor said, not really wanting to leave.

"Yeah." They turned around and headed back towards the house. Dawn could feel her fingers brushing up against Connor's. Finally, she gave in and took his hand in hers. They walked the rest of the way with their fingers laced tightly together.

After dinner the eight friends went out to the beach for a swim under the stars. When everyone was back inside and in their rooms Connor pulled Dawn aside to talk.

"So...did you ever decide if you want to go to the party with me tomorrow night? Oz's band is gonna be playing, so Willow can come too." Connor asked, practically begging her.

"Yeah, I think I will." Dawn answered. Connor smiled and they hugged each other tightly. Connor finally released Dawn and walked up to his room. Dawn waited a mintues, still getting over the rush of being in Connor's arms, then ran up to her room to tell Cordelia the good news.


	6. Chapter 5 Secrets

Chapter five- Secrets.

A/N: This chapter was written by Willowzlilsecret

Cordelia and Dawn woke up with the sun again that morning and Dawn told Cordelia about what had happened the night before.

"I was so mad that you had already fallen asleep…I just wanted to strangle you or something!" Dawn said smiling.

"I'm glad you didn't." Cordelia said, putting her hands up to her throat. They both laughed.

"Everything's going so right with Connor! I've never been this happy!" Dawn said.

"I still don't understand why you guys are being so secretive about it though." Cordelia stated.

"Well…its just that Willow and Oz have something going and Angel and Buffy are just…well…yeah…and we just want to get everything settled…settled before we tell them." Dawn explained.

"Well you've been doing a good job of being all not obvious because everyone was wondering what had happened." Cordelia said. "I'm very proud."

"Thanks…hey that was weird." Dawn said, scratching her head.

"What?" Cordelia asked

"I just got this huge craving for Fanta…" Dawn answered.

The two girls exchanged a look then burst into laughter. They stopped for a minute as the sun peaked out over the water, shimmering on the waves. 'As many times as I see it…I don't think I'll ever get sick of it.' Dawn said to herself. Then the sun fully revealed itself and its cloak of pinks and yellows and oranges. Dawn was in awe.

"I have a couple bucks in my pocket," Cordelia cut into the silence of the magical sunrise, She felt around her shorts pockets. "We could head into town." And it wasn't a bad idea. Dawn had a craving for Fanta and they were dressed appropriately. They were both wearing tank tops and jeans shorts. Dawn's tank top was purple and Cordelia's was red.

"Yes…Fanta…" Dawn agreed. So the two took the nearest boardwalk that didn't lead up to someone's house and began walking in to town.

"So…how bout you and Xander?" Dawn asked.

"Well, not too much really, we talked a little and stuff but…" Cordelia said.

"Oh come on, turn on some Cordelia charm and that kid is won!" Dawn advised.

"You're younger then him and your calling him a kid…that's interesting." Cordelia joked. Dawn shrugged, smiling and pointed to a small Rite Aid. They nodded agreement and headed in.

"Hello and welcome to Rite Aid…do you need help finding anything?" the man behind the cash register asked.

"Uh, no, thanks though." Dawn answered.

"It's very early for two young girls to be out roaming about. Where are your parents?" he asked. The girls both started feeling nervous.

"In California…" Cordelia answered.

"Where are you staying?" he prompted.

"With some friends…" Dawn answered. She grasped Cordelia's hand tightly and they walked to the back of the store together.

"That guy is creepy." Cordelia said. Dawn let go of her hand and opened one of the doors and grabbed out a Fanta. Cordelia grabbed a starbucks chilled coffee…mocha. The two walked up to the register and put their drinks down.

"So where are you girls staying again?" he asked as he rung up the items.

"With a couple of friends…what does it matter to you?" Cordelia asked.

"Oh, it doesn't I was just wondering…its dangerous two young gorgeous girls like yourselves parading around while your parents are away. The total comes to 3.75." he said.

"I'm sure that we will be just fine." Dawn said. Cordelia handed him four dollars. Both girls picked up their drinks.

"Keep the change." Cordelia said as they literally ran out of the store.

"Oh my god that guy was really weird." Dawn said, still nervous and a little out of breath. They hadn't stopped running until they reached the end of the street and got to the boardwalk.

"I think we should head back home and just wait till later to go shopping." Cordelia suggested. Dawn immediately agreed and the girls walked back down to the beach.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Buffy woke Willow up again with her sleep-talking. "And the puppy jumped over the moon." Buffy said and rolled over. Her arm flopped over the side of the bed.

Willow looked at the clock. It was seven. 'Well at least the sun is up this time.' Willow said to herself. She pulled herself out of bed and brushed her hair into a ponytail. She changed out of her sleeping clothes and into a short white skirt and black halter top. She opened the door and as soon as she did, Snoopy and Beans came scrambling in. Beans somehow managed to catapult himself onto Buffy's bed where he curled up on top of her and went to sleep. Snoopy on the other hand wasn't so easily satisfied. He went up to her hand. Licked it. Sniffed it. Licked it again. Bit it. Licked it again. And curled up under it, going to sleep.

"Stop trying to do that! You know it only works on Cordillera." Buffy mumbled and pulled her hand up under her. Willow shook her head and crept out of the room, closing the door behind her. She tiptoed downstairs, knowing that the only people that were awake were Dawn and Cordelia and they were out on the beach. She went down to the kitchen. Now the kitchen was hooked to the living room and was on the second story. Just for a little background information. She looked out the window over the ocean and saw the most extraordinary thing ever. No it wasn't Oz…it was dolphins. Tons of them. Jumping through the water. Willow stopped what she was doing to watch. A loud grunt from Turtle snapped her from her reverie. She rubbed her eyes and patted the dog on the head. The dog grunted again and clomped over to the front of the couch, beyond Willow's line of sight. She sighed and opened a cabinet to get some cereal. She couldn't find anything she liked, so she decided on a cereal bar. She picked it up and jumped over the back of the couch, landing on the sitting part. To her surprise she was greeted by a loud groan. She looked over and saw Oz peeking his head out from under some covers. Then it registered…she had just landed on Oz. She was mortified. She stood up immediately, tripping over Turtle and smacking her head off the coffee table. Oz jumped up and came to her rescue, helping her up and sitting her down on the couch.

"Are you ok?" he asked. Willow nodded, looking mournfully at the cereal bar on the ground, too embarrassed to look at Oz.

'Now he'll never like me! I just made a complete fool out of myself.' she complained to herself.

"Here." he said handing her the cereal bar. "But you probably need ice more than you need that." He walked over to the freezer and got her an ice pack and rapped it in a wash cloth.

"Thanks." Willow said. "Sorry about landing on you."

"It's ok. It was…well…variety is the spice of life…new ways of waking up every morning." Oz said.

"Yeah." Willow said, unsure of what to say. Then she noticed. His once red hair was different. "Your hair! Is brown!"

"Oh, yeah sometimes." he said running his hands through his hair.

"It's good. That hair color on you…looks…good…" Willow said, losing what she was saying.

"Thanks…so what are you doing for college." Oz asked, trying to make conversation.

"Well I have another year of highschool left to go, so…" Willow said.

"What about you?" "I'm not sure…everything sort of leads to jobs." Oz said with a 'deep in thought' expression on his face.

"Well..don't you have some ambition?" Willow asked.

"Oh, yeah! Yeah. E-flat, diminished ninth." Oz said, smiling.

"Huh?" Willow asked.

"Well, the E-flat, it's, well it's doable, but the diminished ninth…y'know it's a man's chord. Now, you could lose a finger." Oz explained.

Willow nodded pretending to understand. "So I'm just gonna get some animal crackers…" Oz said standing up

. Willow watched him. "We have animal crackers?"

she asked. "Yeah actually…I'm not sure where they came from…" Oz said, looking a little perplexed. He grabbed the box and walked back over.

"Animal cracker?" "No thanks."

Willow said. "So you play the guitar…are you good?"

"Well, not good, but not bad…Me and my band are spending a lot of time practicing." he said.

"Your band?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, Angel on drums, Connor is the bass, and Xander…Xander sings." Oz explained.

"Oh my gosh! Are you serious? He would never sing in front of me!" Willow exclaimed. Oz put a finger up to his lips. "Sorry." Willow whispered.

"Just don't want you to wake up the old guys…" Oz said and pulled out an animal cracker. "Oh, look! Monkey! And he has a little hat! And little pants!"

"Yeah…I see!" Willow said smiling.

"The monkey's the only cookie animal that gets to wear clothes, you know that?" Oz asked. Willow smiled brightly and looked from Oz to the cookie.

"You have the sweetest smile I've ever seen." Willow is taken aback by the compliment.

"So, I'm wondering, do the other cookie animals feel sorta ripped? Like is the hippo going, 'Hey man, where are _my_ pants? I have my hippo dignity!' " he continued. Willow laughed. "And you know the monkey's just" with this he glanced at Willow and finished in a French accent, " 'I mock you with my monkey pants!' And there's a big coup in the zoo."

Willow laughed again. "The monkey is French?" she asked.

"All monkeys are French…you didn't know that?" Oz said, still holding the little monkey.

"No…" Willow said and burst into peals of giggles. Suddenly Buffy walked in, her hair a mess, two small dogs trailing after her. Her eyes were half shut and she walked into the wall.

"Ow." she moaned. She rubbed her face and moved to the right a little. She continued walked and stumbled over Beans. "Ow." she repeated.

"Buffy…are you ok?" Willow asked.

"The beans…baked beans…I'm gonna bake Beans." Buffy mumbled. With that Beans gave a small yelp and ran over to Willow, hopping up on her lap. "Woodstock." Buffy mumbled. She walked into the refrigerator and headed back up the stairs.

"I never asked for a Corona…maybe I don't want a Corona…I checked the fridge. Angel wants a Corona…so does Spike. I want a Corona." she mumbled as she stumbled up the stairs. Willow and Oz exchanged looks.

"I didn't know she sleep walked." Willow said.

"But the talking…that's normal?" Oz asked.

"I wouldn't say normal." Willow said and laughed.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000Twenty Minutes Later00000000000000000000000000000000000

"So why _were_ you sleeping on the couch anyway?" Willow asked. They had clicked on the TV around ten minutes ago, but had continued talking over the cartoon voices.

"Well you see Xander and I, well we're sharing a room. And Xander snores. Now if you ever heard Xander snore I think that you would understand." Oz said.

"Oh no, are you serious? He's like a roaring bear when he sleeps." Willow said laughing.

"Yeah he's definitely loud. It always wakes me up." Oz said.

"Guys! We're home!" Cordelia called from downstairs as she opened the door. Then she remember that people might still be asleep. They walked up to the second floor where Willow and Oz were watching TV.

"Hey Cordy, Dawn." Willow said.

"Hi guys." Oz threw over his shoulder and put a hand up in the air as a wave.

"Whatcha watching?" Dawn asked as she plopped down on the couch next to Willow.

"Uh…Tom and Jerry." Willow answered. Cordelia took the couch that was across from Willow's. Dawn switched couches and sat next to Cordelia.

"Cat chasing mouse…fun." Cordelia said, studying her nails.

"Intriguing." Oz said followed by a curt nod.

"Fun." Willow repeated.

Three Hours Later

Dawn and Cordelia kept watching Willow and Oz, trying to muffle their giggles. Willow had fallen asleep first, Oz's arm around her, and her head on his shoulder. Only moments later Oz fell asleep with his head on top of Willow's. And so the two had stayed like that for the past hour.

"Oz is gonna have a crick in his neck when he wakes up." Dawn pointed out.

"Willow probably will too." Cordelia agreed.

"LA LA LA LA LA Fa LA! MI MI MI MI MI!" Xander sang as he hopped down the stairs.

"SHHHHH!" Dawn and Cordelia both admonished. Then Dawn pointed to Willow and Oz.

"Aren't they adorable?" Cordelia said. Xander chuckled as he looked at his cousin and his best friend.

"Yes they most definitely are…and since when does Oz have brown hair?" Xander said.

"We were just wondering the exact same thing…" Dawn said with a puzzled look on her face.

"Well I'm gonna go take a shower…I have 'creepy guy' feeling all over me!" Cordelia said and walked upstairs.

Xander plunked down next to Dawn and watched the two with her.

"Good morning girls and guys!" Jenny said as she walked down the stairs, still in a nightgown. "Who wants some grilled cheese for lunch?"

"SHHH!" Xander and Dawn scolded Jenny. This time Xander pointed at the couple.

"Aww! I have to take a picture!" Jenny said, and looked through her purse for her digital camera.

"Mom!" Xander groaned.

"Don't worry, I'll send it to her." Jenny said and snapped the picture.

"What? I'm here. I'm good." Oz said, startled awake.

"Yeah me too." Willow said groggily, awakened by her pillow suddenly moving.

"Now look what you did." Xander mock-whined.

Jenny shrugged. "Ok and who wants some grilled cheese sandwiches?" Jenny asked again.

"I do." resounded throughout the room. Jenny began putting the food together as the teens watched some more cartoons. It was Dexter's Lab.

"Great some kid with a stuffy nose making stuff." Dawn said.

"Fun." Willow said.

"Intriguing." Oz said.

"Fun." Xander repeated. Just then Giles came rushing down the stairs in a tweed suit holding some books. He kissed Jenny on the cheek and grabbed a grilled cheese out of her hand. He stuffed the entire thing in his mouth.

"Library." he said through the food. He swallowed it all with a glass of orange juice and headed out the door.

"That Rupert…always such a bookworm. Hey, would you kids like to hear the story of how we met?" Jenny asked. There were multiple groans and Xander saying no thanks.

"But you used to _love_ that story!" Jenny protested.

"No, really mom, its ok." Xander assured her.

"If you insist." Jenny said, placing her hands on her hips.

"I really do." Xander said.

"Ok…then I'll just finish lunch." Jenny said sounding a little disappointed.

"Ok." Xander said.

"Well it was when I was about twenty and Rupert was around twenty-seven-ish. I was working at a highschool. Sunnydale high actually, and I was the computer teacher. Rupert was the librarian. He spent all day in his musty library, having absolutely no life at all. Then I came around. And it was love at first—"

"MOM!" Xander yelled.

"Sight! We married the within the next year and had a little baby Xander. The End." Jenny said cutting her story short. She started working on the salad as the grilled cheeses…well…grilled.

Cordelia emerged from the stairs in her ocean blue bathing suit with a blue wrap around her waist and a green tank top over. Her hair was clipped up with a blue hair clip and a few dark tendrils framed her face. Her hair was still damp.

"Your turn, Dawn." she said. "Thank God! I was beginning to think I'd never get my turn!" she exclaimed. She jumped from the couch and bolted up the stairs. "What happened to you guys that you needed to shower so badly?" Xander asked suspiciously as she sat down next to him.

"There was a weird guy at Rite Aid and he just gave us a gross feeling." Cordelia said simply. "My God how long does this dumb show last?"

"Half an hour." Oz said, not really focusing on anything. He was in heaven. This girl that he was so amazed by was in his arms. And she wasn't moving. And he was happy.

"Well aren't you the king of stupid cartoon shows." Cordelia said and sighed loudly.

"How long do you think it will take for Dawn to shower?"

"Half an hour." Oz repeated.

"Is that your answer to everything?" Xander asked.

"Half an hour." Oz joked. "No, its just my estimate of a teenage girl's shower time. It's about how long Cordelia's was."

"Morning." Angel yawned as he came down the stairs. He was wearing a white muscle shirt and black pants. His hair was messy and he looked hot as ever. He stretched and sat down on the other side of Willow. He leaned back and propped his legs up on the coffee table.

"Angel, feet off the coffee table." Jenny warned, holding a knife. Of course she wasn't threatening him, she just happened to be cutting carrots at the time. Angel sighed loudly and removed his feet from the coffee table. For the first time in five hours, Turtle moved. He picked up his head and howled real loud then returned his head back to his paws. Moments later Fuzzball came running from downstairs, yipping all the way. He bounced all over everyone and then settled himself against Turtle. Buffy came down the stairs rubbing her eyes, followed by Snoopy and Beans. Both dogs were circling her feet and trying to trip her.

"Dumb dogs." she grumbled and sat down next to Cordelia. She had fixed her hair but was still wearing her pjs.

"Lunch is ready." Jenny announced. Everyone shuffled over to the table and began eating.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000 Upstairs 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Dawn came out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her body, and her hair up in a high ponytail. Connor stepped out of his and Angel's room to greet her. She almost yelped in surprise but held it down.

"Hey." he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You scared me." Dawn whispered, holding her towel up with one hand and putting the other behind Connor's head.

"I'm sorry." he whispered and hugged her close. She felt nervous for some reason… Connor pulled away and looked her in the eye. She had the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. They were grey tinged with blue and green. Dawn looked back at Connor. His bangs fell in front of his blue eyes, but not enough that he couldn't see her. She used one hand to brush his hair away from his face. He watched her eyes, darting around nervously, trying to stay on his. His gaze strengthened and she finally calmed down. He leaned in a little closer and boosted her up a little. And his lips met hers in a passionate fuse. He backed her against the wall and the kiss intensified. Dawn pulled away, breathing deeply.

"Someone…might…see…" she whispered.

"No, they're all down there eating." he assured her and leaned in for another kiss.

"No…Connor…later…I have to get dressed…I'll be down in a minute." she said firmly. She flashed him a quick mischievous smile and went into her room.

He sighed partially of disappointment and partially of please. He turned and went downstairs to meet the rest of the teens. Dawn came down just as everyone was finishing up. She ate while everyone else changed. She and Cordelia were left at the table alone.

"Cordy…I hafta tell you something." Dawn said and went back to eating.

"Well you and me are gonna walk the dogs…Buffy's sick of Beans and Snoopy being permanently attached to her. And then we're gonna meet up with them here in half an hour to go shopping." Cordelia informed her.

"Ok…where are the guys gonna be?" Dawn asked. "Downstairs playing video games until we're done shopping then we're all heading down to the beach." Cordelia explained.

"Ok, works for me." Dawn said and finished up her lunch.

"Ok smelly puppies! Time to take a walk!" Cordelia called. Only Turtle and Fuzzball appeared.

"Well, wherever Buffy is you will find Beans and Snoopy." Dawn pointed out as she hooked the two dogs to the leash. Cordelia nodded and headed up the stairs. Buffy had locked the two dogs out of her room and they were clawing at the door.

"Come on you guys." Cordelia said. She dragged the dogs down the stairs and Dawn hooked them to the leash as well.

"Let's go!" she announced. Then the two of them started out on their walk.

"So what is it you had to tell me?" Cordelia asked.

"I think I'll make you wait until tonight!" Dawn teased.

"Are you serious!" Cordelia exclaimed.

"Yes I am." Dawn said smiling smugly. Cordelia slapped her lightly on the shoulder. Suddenly she felt chills running down her back.

"Is it just me or…" she started, but decided not to freak Dawn out. "Never mind."

"I feel like we're being followed…" Dawn said.

000000000000000000000000000000000000 Back At The House000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Willow came down to the living room. Buffy was up in their room rejoicing to be rid of the annoying dogs and took a nap. Where she slept-talked about grilled cheese and baked Beans. Willow was surprised to hear noises coming from in the living room. Oz was sitting on the couch strumming on his electric guitar, tapping his foot to keep the beat. He was resting his chin on the top and since there was no amp it was pretty quite.

"Hey." Willow said. Oz looked up at her and stopped playing the guitar, giving her his full attention.

"Hey." he answered. "Do you guys have like…a gig tonight?" Willow asked shyly, hoping that if he did he would invite her.

"Oh, no. Practice. See, our band's kinda moving towards this new sound where…we suck, so…practice." Oz explained.

"I think you sounded good." Willow said hopefully.

"Thanks." he said simply.

"I bet you have a lot of groupies." Willow said, suddenly feeling down. He probably had a girlfriend…or a groupie of his own…ew…

"It happens." Oz said nodding. "Now, I'm living groupie free nowadays. I'm clean."

"Oh." Willow said smiling. She felt her stomach twisting in knots as the silence became awkward.

"Ok, so I have a show tomorrow night and I'm kinda thinking about asking you to be there…and I'm kinda nervous about it, actually. It's interesting." Oz told her.

"Oh…well if it helps at all, I'm gonna say yes." Willow assured him.

"Yeah, it helps. It-it creats a comfort zone." he explained. Willow smiled brightly and he continued. "Do you wanna come to my thing tomorrow night?"

"Oh! No! I can't!" Willow said slapping her hand to her forehead.

"Well, see, I like that you're unpredictable." Oz said nodding slightly.

"Oh its just, me, Cordy, Dawn, and Buffy all agreed that tomorrow night was our together night and…just…grr. I'm sorry. It's this girl thing."

"Oh, no it's ok." Oz said.

"But like, since you're playing maybe we could move the date and I could come. I'll work on it." she said smiling.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000In Town 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"I think I'm about ready to head back now." Dawn said nervously. They had walked all through town and the entire time they both had the eerie feeling of being followed. And plus there was the whole 'creepy guy' factor weighing in.

"Agreed." Cordelia said and they started back towards the house. The dogs were unusually quite.

"Well, if someone attacks us, at least we have Beans. He can just annoy the guy to death." Dawn joked.

"Yeah." Cordelia said. They hurried back to the house and the as soon as the dogs were off the leash, Turtle took his place under the coffee table and Fuzzball ran downstairs to greet the guys. And of course Snoopy and Beans were back at Buffy's door, clawing and just being annoying in general. By then, Willow was watching TV alone and Oz had gone downstairs.

"I'll go get Buffy." Dawn said. Cordelia sat down next to Willow.

"Cordelia…do you think you could convince Buffy and Dawn to do something for me?" Willow asked.

"Sure, what?" Cordelia asked.

"Well you know how we have that 'girls night' tomorrow?" Willow asked.

"Yeah." Cordelia answered.

"Well, Oz has a gig tomorrow and I really want to go…so do you think we could postpone it a couple days until Sunday?"

Willow asked. "Sure! I'll talk to Buffy before she heads to bed and Dawn and I have this thing where we talk every night, so I'll tell her then." Cordelia said smiling.

"Question." Willow said.

"Shoot." Cordelia laughed.

"When did you and Dawn become such good friends…I mean I'm glad you did because she didn't really fit in but…when?" Willow babbled.

"Uh, on the way here mostly, while you and Buffy were sleeping." Cordelia answered.

"Cool." Willow stated.

"Ok guys, lets get rolling!" Buffy said as she and Dawn came down the stairs.

0000Three Hours Later0000

The four girls walked home, arms filled with bags and extra jewelry around their wrists and necks. They had scarves tied around their heads, necks, arms, legs, everywhere. And as they walked the stumbled and giggled and talked and laughed. They finally reached the house, where they put all their new cloths away and new jewelry and make up on top of their dressers. They all went downstairs where Oz and Connor were having a vicious video game fight. Both of them were distracted as Dawn and Willow came into the room. Connor ended up winning, only because Oz's thumb got tired. Connor suppressed the urge to kiss Dawn on the cheek and felt a surge of anger for having to keep their relationship secret. But he couldn't yell about it either. He kicked a bean bag and decided he would just have to swim it off. The eight teens headed down to the beach and all split up. Dawn and Cordelia laid down to tan before the sun went down. Connor went to swim off his anger. Willow and Buffy alternated between playing Frisbee and swimming. Oz, Angel, and Xander splashed around and used the 'boogie boards' that they had brought from the house.

"Come on Dawnie please, please, pleeease tell me what happened." Cordelia whined.

"Nope." Dawn said, loving all the attention Cordelia was giving her.

"Don't make me tickle you!" Cordelia warned.

"Do you realize how wrong that would look?" Dawn joked.

"Who cares! Just tell me!" Cordelia said.

"No way. Not till tonight." Dawn said.

"Which reminds me…you know how we have the 'girls night' thing tomorrow?" Cordelia asked. "Shit!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Watch your language and what?" Cordelia asked, glad that she might get to know _some_ little detail.

"I said that I'd go to a party with Connor tomorrow. Oz's band is playing and…"

"Who's Oz's band?" Cordelia asked.

"Well it consists of Angel on drums, himself on bass, Xander as the lead singer, and Oz on guitar." Dawn explained.

"Whoa…invite me!" Cordelia said. "Ok, Cordelia would you like to go to the party with me tomorrow?" Dawn asked.

"Heck yes I would!" Cordelia laughed.

00000000000000000000000000000000000In The Water000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Connor swam back and forth, making sure that Dawn was in sight. He was fighting with himself, part of him angry at Dawn, part of him defending her.

'Why do we have to keep it a secret?'

'Because Dawn cares about her sister and doesn't want to make her feel bad about your cold-hearted brother'

'But why should I be tortured for what my brother does?'

'Because you love Dawn.'

'Maybe I don't love her enough…maybe I should just break it off.'

'Don't even think that way, she's the best thing that happened to you and you're not going to throw it away.'

Eventually he agreed with himself and decided he was being a little too schizo. He swam to the shore and laid out a towel next to Dawn.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 Back At The House000000000000000000000000000000

Jenny and Giles arrived home at about the same time.

"It feels like we never talk." Jenny said wrapping her arms around Giles's neck. She kissed him on the cheek. He set his books down and agreed with,

"We barely even look at each other." Jenny looked at him and they began kissing each other with a newly kindled love.

"It's…kinda…strange…that a…bunch of…teenagers…could help us…figure that out." Jenny said between kisses.

Giles agreed and they headed upstairs to their room, using their free time wisely.

(hey they're kind of old and I just can't write jenny/giles very well…don't sue!) 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 One Hour Later0000000000000000000000

The eight teens returned to the beach house, and were greeted by a dinner of spaghetti and more salad.

"Food!" Xander said happily.

"Spaghetti." Cordelia said. And the rest of the group expressed their joy with a various assortment of 'yum's and 'food's. They all ate quickly and Giles and Jenny were the first to head up to bed. Everyone heads out to the pool and Buffy is unfortunately followed by Beans and Snoopy and Fuzzball. Turtle just sits next to the pool, resumes position, and falls asleep. Cordelia didn't want chlorine in her hair, so she just sat on the edge of the pool while everyone else actually jumped in.

Except for Willow and Oz. Willow sat in a lawn chair and Oz stood by the door.

"Hey." Willow said, walking up to him. Actually she was walking to the door, but it might as well have been him.

"Hey," he said back and stepped aside so she could open the door.

"Guys I'm gonna go to bed." she called to the rest of the teens as she opened the door. Oz followed her in.

"Why are you going to bed so early?" Oz asked.

"Getting as much sleep as I can before Buffy comes." Willow explained.

Oz chuckled. "I should probably do the same." he agreed. Willow smiled and headed up to her room. Oz stood there and said aloud, 'What a girl.'

Angel and Buffy were both at the shallow end of the pool while Xander, Dawn, Connor, and Cordelia were splashing around in the deep end. Cordelia was shielding herself from water while kicking up a storm as she sat on the edge of the pool. Xander and Connor were trying to pull her in and Dawn was trying to protect her.

"So…I met someone yesterday…he's really nice." Buffy said.

"Really…what's his name?" Angel asked, trying to hold down any jealousy.

"Spike." Buffy answered, smiling.

"Spike." Angel repeated nodding.

"Yeah. He's so handsome and polite and he has a hot English accent—" Buffy started.

"Like Giles?" Angel asked.

"Ow, way to make that sound gross." Buffy said laughing.

"Sorry." Angel said, also laughing. But he was glad that she considered something about this 'Spike' guy gross.

"So why don't you tell me about Darla?" Buffy asked.

"Not much to tell." Angel answered. Buffy picked up on the 'don't wanna talk about it' vibes and let it go.

"So, you know, my band is playing tomorrow night and—" Angel began.

"You have a band?" Buffy interrupted.

"Yeah…I play drums. Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to come hear us play." Angel finished

. "Yeah that'd be sooo cool." Buffy said, exaggerating the 'so' a little too much.

"Yeah it would…well I'm kinda worn…to many video games…I'm gonna dream about those little dudes fighting tonight." Angel said and walked inside.

"Night." Buffy said to the empty space where Angel had been sitting. Dawn pulled herself out of the pool and walked over to Buffy who was sitting alone.

"Hey. You wanna walk down on the beach or something?" Dawn asked, seeing the sad expression on her sister's face.

"Yeah, that'd be cool." Buffy said standing up.

"Cordelia, sorry I can't keep you from being pulled in any more…me and Buffy need some sisterly time!" Dawn called over to her.

"Ok. And can you ask her about the postponing of the thing?" Cordelia asked as she warded off Xander and Connor.

"Sure!" Dawn answered and she and Buffy began to walk away. Of course Snoopy, Beans, and Fuzzball tried to follow. Dawn sighed loudly and she and Buffy walked into the house. The air conditioning had the whole house freezing and the dogs rushed in after them, shaking off everywhere.

"Oops!" Buffy said. As soon as the three dogs, not including Turtle were in, Buffy and Dawn raced back out, shutting the door before any of the dogs could get out. They walked down to the beach. Connor decided that since Dawn had left, he didn't really want to be in the pool anyway. He was feeling guilty that he hadn't talked to Dawn since he kissed her and decided that he just needed to get some sleep before he got angry again.

"It's getting late, I think I'm gonna head up to bed." he said and got out of the water. He walked inside, making sure that none of the dogs got out, and went up to his room.

"So its just you and me." Xander said slyly.

"Yep." Cordelia agreed. "And Turtle." The moment that Cordelia had let her guard down, Xander grabbed her and pulled her into the pool with him. They stood together, their arms around each other in perfect silence. And they just looked at each other. Suddenly, Xander moved in and kissed her. They weren't going out or anything. He just acted on impulse and kissed her. He pulled away and they let go of each other, retreating to opposite sides of the pool, feeling rather awkward indeed.

"I'm just gonna head up to my room now and wait for Dawn." Cordelia said and got out of the pool, heading inside. Turtle followed her and Xander was left alone. He sighed loudly.

"Maybe I shouldn't have done that." he said to himself. He got out of the pool and went inside to watch some TV before he went to bed. But he knew that he wouldn't be able to pay any attention to what was on.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000At The Beach 00000000000000000000000000000000

Buffy and Dawn walked down the beach.

"Yeah… and Spike is so hot! I mean, he likes me and I like him, but we're just to nervous for either of us to ask each other to do anything!" Buffy exclaimed. They walked in silence for a while, avoiding the water.

"So what about you and Connor. One day you're all over each other and the next. Bam. nothing." Buffy observed.

"It happens." Dawn shrugged.

"Think we should head back now before we get lost?"

"Yeah probably." Buffy agreed. She gave Dawn a light shove. It wasn't as light as she thought. Dawn tumbled into the water.

"Hey!" she yelled and grabbed Buffy, yanking her in with her.

"Oh great, now I'm all wet again!" Buffy mock-whined. The two pulled themselves out of the water and tried to keep as much sand as they could off their feet. They finally arrived back at the house.

"Night Dawn." Buffy said as she walked into her room.

"Night Buffy." Dawn said also walking into her room. She was so ready to go to sleep. Unfortunately she had a Cordelia. And that Cordelia wanted to talk. She suddenly found herself wishing she had just told Cordelia earlier.

"We kissed!" Cordelia exclaimed as soon as Dawn shut the door.

"Ohmygosh! When?" Dawn asked with a new burst of energy.

"As soon as you and Buffy left, Connor just got bored and went to bed, and then he pulled me into the pool and we just kissed!" Cordelia exclaimed.

"That is soo cool!" Dawn said. The famous 'Summers' expression.

"Ok, now what's yours?"

"Ok, well when I came out of the bathroom earlier, Connor was there to greet me and we kissed!" Dawn shared.

"Wow, lot's of kissing going on today huh…Wednesday…weird." Cordelia observed. They both burst into laughter.

"Well I'm pooped." Dawn said and pushed Cordelia off her bed. Cordelia landed on the floor with a thump. Dawn crawled under the covers and was asleep in an instant. Cordelia sighed, annoyed that she couldn't tell Dawn how scared she was that any relationship between her and Xander was ruined. She climbed into her own bed and turned off the lights.


	7. Chapter 6 The Party

Chapter Six-The Party

A/N: This chapter was written by Willowzlilsecret

Dawn woke up before Cordelia and went down to the kitchen. She got herself some cereal and sat at the bar.

"You're up early." a male voice came from behind her.

"Yeah, I normally am." Dawn answered.

"Really..." the voice made an appearance. It was Connor. He covered her mouth with his own. He slowly ran his hands up and down her back.

"Get a room." Oz joked from the couch. Both of the younger teens all but jumped out of their skin.

"Oz…when did you get here?" Dawn asked, pulling away from Connor.

"I sleep here." Oz answered.

"You weren't here last night when I went to bed." Dawn protested, pretending the whole 'Connor' thing never happened.

"Yeah Xander kinda snores and it woke me up." Oz answered.

"That sucks." Connor commented, trying to insert himself into the conversation. "Angel just recently started sleep talking. He normally only does it when he has 'inner-turmoil' or whatever."

"Buffy does that too, it's soo weird. Oh but with out the inner turmoil thing…she just does it." Dawn observed and the three burst into laughter. "Well I'm gonna go get Cordy before the sun rises.

"Good luck." Oz said and Connor reached out to squeeze Dawn's hand. She ignored it and walked away. His hand fell down to his side in hurt and annoyance.

"Don't tell…she's not ready yet." he told Oz, walking over to the couch.

"It's fine. I'll keep it to myself." Oz assured him.

"So…are we gonna practice all of today?" Connor asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, and Xander wants us to make a 'special' song for the girls." Oz informed him.

"That's cool." Connor said. "Do we have any ideas for this song?"

"That's why I'm up." Oz explained. "But we're not playing it until our next gig  
or so."

"Good, I have too much on my mind to try to memorize a song right now." Connor sighed.

Dawn and Cordelia emerged from the stairs. Dawn was wearing brown shorts that read 'SunRise Karma Café' in pink and a pink tanktop. Cordelia was wearing crimson shorts that read 'Goddess of Love' in light blue and a matching tank.

Dawn rushed over to Connor, threw her arms around him and kissed him. He slowly wrapped his arms around her, still a little hurt from before.

"Sorry for being such a bitch…about us." Dawn whispered to him. "We can tell everyone once things are settled." Connor nodded his forgiveness and agreement. They kissed again.

"Ok, sorry to spoil this touching moment and stuff, but, Dawn, we gotta go!" Cordelia interrupted dragging Dawn away.

"Bye!" Dawn said, blowing Connor a kiss.

Oz chuckled as Connor plopped down next to him, sighing; love struck.

"Hey!" Connor objected. "If it were Willow you'd be the same!"

"Hmmmmm…" Oz scratched his chin as he made a 'thinking' face. Both of themlaughed.

Willow came down the stairs rubbing her eyes.

"Gosh, what time is it?" she asked, hoping that it was at least after six.

"5:56." Oz answered. "Get a good night's sleep?"

"Mmmm…sorta. I'm normally up a whole lot earlier." Willow mumbled, still rubbing her eyes. She plopped down on the other side of Oz. Connor grabbed his bass out of the corner of the room and began practicing.

"I can't wait till the party tonight." Willow said, waking up a little more.

"Yeah it should be cool." Oz agreed, nodding.

"Are you gonna have any time to hang or are you guys just gonna be playing the whole time?" Willow asked, more awake now.

"Well, you see, the host is kind of alternating between us, another band, and some cds, so yeah we'll have time to hang."

"So we can dance? Like everyone, not just you and me, but you an me can still dance, but its cool that we can hang out and have fun and you guys don't…have…to…play…the whole time." Willow babbled. Oz smiled and nodded and Connor suppressed a laugh.

"Well I think me and Connor are gonna go practice. Tell Angel and Xander that we're in the basement." Oz told her and stood up. He grabbed his guitar and thetwo boys headed downstairs.

"No amps until after Giles and Jenny leave for the day." Willow called after them.

On The Beach

The sun had risen and Dawn and Cordelia were heading towards town. Cordelia had heard about a café and she wanted to try it out. Of course Dawn agreed. It was a little café in the middle of town called, 'The Lighthouse Café.' They walked into the little shop and were greeted by a cheery woman. She was short, plump,and very tan. She had twinkling green eyes and frizzy greying brown hair. She waved them in from behind the counter. There was instrumental jazz playing quietly in the background.

"Come on in dears!" the lady said happily. There was only one other customer in the shop and he was hidden behind a large newspaper. The lady ushered them to a table far away from the man.

"What'll it be for you gals?" she asked, pulling out a small notebook.

"Um, I'll have a Dutch chocolate muffin and a French Vanilla cappuccino." Dawn answered after glancing down the menu. Cordelia agreed on the same thing, except with a strawberry muffin.

The lady scribbled their orders down and headed to the back.

The man behind the newspaper cleared his throat loudly and shifted. The girls glanced at each other and laughed.

Suddenly the man took down his newspaper.

It was the creepy guy from Rite-Aid. He folded up his newspaper and sat down next to Dawn. She held back a scream. He placed one of his hands on her leg.

"You two sure do spend a lot of time together." He commented slyly.

"Don't touch her!" Cordelia exclaimed.

"What, do you own her? Is she your little sex bunny?" he spat.

"No!" Dawn shot back.

"Come on, save your girlfriend. Kiss her or I will." He threatened, grabbing Dawn by her hair.

"She's not my girlfriend." Cordelia protested. Dawn whimpered and looked pleadingly at Cordelia. The man lowered his lips closer to Dawn's. She opened her mouth to scream.

"Make a sound and both of you will get hurt." He warned. He leaned closer for the kiss and then the waitress came out from the back. He let go of Dawn and quickly stood up.

"The name's Joe. I'll be seeing you girls again, very soon…" he cackled and ran out of the restaurant.

"Here ye' girls are." The lady said, setting down the drinks. "Just ignore him, he's the town loon."

"Thanks, ma'am." Cordelia said. She smiled as the lady walked away. She turned to Dawn with a look of concern on her face. "Are you ok?"

"I thought I was gonna…I have never been so scared in my entire life." Dawn said quietly and sipped her drink.

"I am so sorry…" Cordelia said, taking a bite of her muffin.

"It's ok…it wasn't your fault." Dawn said, a little coldly.

"I'm sorry…I was scared too…I don't know what I was thinking." Cordelia said.

"When?" Dawn asked.

"When he was going to kiss you. I could've stopped him." Cordelia said.

"No, its fine." Dawn said, mentally forgiving Cordelia. She was probably scared  
s well.

"He just…can't find out where we're staying." Cordelia said quietly.

"What if he already knows?" Dawn asked, biting her lip.

"He doesn't…I hope." Cordelia assured her. The two finished their food in silence and paid. They went outside taking the long way home.

At the House

Willow and Buffy sat down watching TV and pigging out on goldfish.

"The snack that smiles back; goldfish!" Buffy sang and popped the snack into her mouth. Snoopy and Beans were racing in circles around the couch while Turtle and Fuzzball just slept under the coffee table. Suddenly Buffy's cell phone rang.

She jumped to answer it, glad for something to do. 'A little overly excited…' she told herself.

"Hello?" she asked into the phone.

"Buffy." The British voice on the other line answered.

"Oh! Hi Spike!" Buffy exclaimed, smiling brightly at Willow. Willow smiled back and gave a 'thumbs-up' sign.

"What are you doing tonight, luv?" Spike asked.

"Actually I'm going to a party." Buffy explained.

"With your boyfriend." Spike finished quietly.

"No, I don't really have a boyfriend." Buffy told him. Angel wasn't her boyfriend. He had a girlfriend. Darla.

"Oh really?" Spike said cheering up a bit.

"Yeah really…you know, we can hang out tomorrow night though, maybe, if you want." Buffy suggested shyly.

"Yeah, there's a party tomorrow night and you should come. We would have fun." Spike insisted.

"Uh, sounds awesome." Buffy agreed.

"So we're on for tomorrow night, pet? Tell me again where I should pick you up." Spike asked.

So Buffy gave him the address and hung up. She and Willow beamed at each other, grasped each other's hands, and began bouncing around the room.

Six Hours Later

The four girls walked from store to store around the town.

"Oh my gosh! Let's get henna tattoos!" Cordelia suggested as they walked by a small tourist shop.

"Oh yeah, for the party tonight!" Willow agreed.

"And tomorrow." Buffy said slyly.

"What's tomorrow?" Dawn asked.

"Buffy's got a date!" Willow burst out.

"Oh my gosh! With who?" Cordelia prompted.

"This guy I met…his name is Spike." Buffy said dreamily.

"Oh details!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Well, he's tall, platinum blond, gorgeous blue eyes, kind of has this 'bad-boy' air about him, and he has this sexy British accent." Buffy gushed.

"Like Giles?" Cordelia asked, making the same observation as Angel.

"That's the second time someone has said that." Buffy scowled.

"So…tattoos?" Willow asked as she began walking into the shop.

"Yeah!" Dawn agreed and they all walked in.

The girls stood in front of a large board with pictures of all the things that they could get done.

"What should I get?" Dawn asked.

"Oh get that one! It's sooo you!" Cordelia said pointing to a picture of a small sun.

"Where should I get it?" Dawn asked.

"On your shoulder blade." Buffy suggested. "Then you could wear that halter top we bought yesterday."

"Good idea!" Dawn agreed and stepped up to one of the people working there. She explained what she wanted as the other girls chose their designs.

"Now me…what should I get?" Cordelia asked.

"Uh…how about you get that butterfly?" Willow suggested, pointing to an intricately drawn butterfly with little swirls going off to the sides, indicating that it was mean for either your stomach or your lower back.

"Oh its beautiful! I'll get it around my belly button!" Cordelia exclaimed. She rushed over to tell another one of the workers what she wanted.

"Ok Will, since you're so good, find one for me." Buffy joked as the two girls continued looking.

"Oh get this one!" Willow exclaimed. Buffy looked to where she was pointing. It was a heart that was being pulled two different ways.

"It definitely is me." Buffy said sadly.

"It was just an idea, You don't like it. I'll find something else. Something better." Willow assured, noticing Buffy's tone.

"No, I love it. It says so much about me." Buffy said. "Thanks Will."

"No big." Willow shrugged. "Let's go."

"What about yours?" Buffy asked.

"Already picked it. Where are you putting yours?" Willow asked.

"On my ankle." Buffy answered.

"That's awesome!"

Twenty Minutes Later

"Willow, why did you choose yours?" Dawn asked as the girls stood inspecting each other's tattoos. Willow's was on the small of her back. It was ocean waves with tiny dolphins jumping through the water.

"Because I had just seen dolphins leaping through the water when Oz asked me to go to the party with him." Willow answered, blushing.

"AW! That is so cute!" Dawn giggled and was joined by the two other girls. Willow's face turned a ferocious red as she smiled shyly.

"I just love him so much!" Willow sighed.

"Are you two like…going out?" Buffy asked, unsure.

"Well, I don't know…I mean he asked me to go to the party…but I'm not sure. Can you ask?" Willow asked excitedly.

"I can find out." Cordelia said, smiling smugly.

"How?" Buffy asked suspiciously. Cordelia kept smiling. Dawn caught on.

"How?" she asked wide-eyed.

"Connections." Cordelia assured them.

"Great." came from all three of the other girls. Willow's reaction: excited. Buffy's reaction: glad. Dawn's reaction: annoyed.

"This is so awesome!" Willow said bouncing around.

"Ok, ok, but we have to go home to get ready!" Cordelia interjected.

"Yeah, we all have to take showers, do our hair and makeup and nails!" Dawn added.

"We hafta get going!" Buffy agreed, and the four girls walked out of the store and practically ran home.

They arrived back home at three and were greeting by two hyped-up dogs, and loud music.

"Fooood!" Dawn groaned as they walked to the second story.

"Ok, here's the game plan. I'll make some sandwiches, Buffy and Dawn go pick out your outfits, help each other, Cordelia go shower. Then we'll all eat. Then Dawn will shower while Cordelia and I pick out our outfits, then Buffy will shower, then me. In the meantime we'll be deciding on hairdos, makeup, and nail colors." Willow instructed.

"Yes sir!" Buffy said, saluting Willow and marching up the stairs.

"I vote peanut butter and jelly." Dawn said as she followed her sister.

"Well aren't you bossy." Cordelia joked and followed her best friends up the stairs.

"I'm just taking charge." Willow said to herself.

Four Hours Later

The girls had themselves all done up and they looked gorgeous. The entire time they were getting ready they had music playing so it was almost like they had their own TV show. Or a movie. Just as Willow had gotten out of the shower the guys stopped playing so they could get ready. After all, the party started at eight and it was seven. And they hadn't eaten all day.

"Poor them…all they will have is cold water…the end of my shower was cold." Willow said shaking her head.

"They probably won't even take showers." Cordelia said in disgust.

"True…they only have an hour to get ready." Dawn agreed.

"But they'll be hot!" Buffy exclaimed and the girls began laughing. They were all in Cordelia and Dawn's room with all the makeup and nail polish scattered around the floor.

They were finished with everything and were just beginning to clean up.

Willow's auburn hair was swept up in a clip with a few curled tendrils falling around her face. She was wearing a floofy purple skirt with a blue sash tied around the top. She had a dark blue tank top on, matching the sash. Cordelia and Buffy had decided on her nail color: purple to match the skirt. And Dawn did makeup. She was really good at it actually. Willow had a shimmer about her whole face and there was a little dark blue on her eyelids, but nothing too dramatic…I mean it was Willow. And she had a light pink gloss on her lips.

Cordelia had her hair in a half-pony tail. Two pieces of raven black hair fell around her face, giving it shape. She was wearing a tight black tube top and a short jeans mini-skirt. She had a smoky eye shadow and clear polish on her nails. She also had a reddish brown lipstick on, nothing too obvious.

Buffy had her hair down and straightened. She was wearing a pink halter top and low slung blue-jeans. She had a little light pink eye shadow brushed on her eye lids and pink nail polish. She had a light pink shimmer on her lips.

Dawn had her hair down and curled, falling a little lower then her shoulders. She wore a tight top that only had one sleeve going over the shoulder without the tattoo. The shirt was a 'midriff bearing' shirt that was filled with random neutral colored swirls. She had on dark almost black hip-hugger jeans that almost didn't cover her. Needless to say, Buffy didn't approve…

"Dawn there is no way I am letting you out of this house looking like that!" Buffy argued, looking over her little sister's outfit.

"I think I look hot!" Dawn objected giving her sister a dirty look.

"Well I think you look like a baby prostitute!" Buffy yelled.

"Come on! We're on vacation!" Dawn cried.

"That doesn't mean you get to waltz about the streets naked!" Buffy shot back.

"I think that since it is vacation and Joyce…your mom…wouldn't ever let her wear that outfit, its only fair that she gets some use out of it." Cordelia said, taking Dawn's side.

"Yeah you wouldn't want to waste money, Buffy." Dawn said crossing her arms.

"Fine." Buffy gave in with a sigh. She and Willow walked out the door and Dawn was about to follow when Cordelia pulled her back.

"Dawn." Cordelia said with a smile.

"Cordelia." Dawn said nodding slightly.

"Do you think you could ask Connor to ask Oz if he's going out with Willow?" Cordelia pleaded.

"I knew it would come down to this." Dawn sighed under her breath, then answered: "Sure."

"Good! Now let's get to that party!" Cordelia squealed and they rushed down to the rest of the group.

At The Party

All eight teens walked in together, the boys on one side carrying their instruments, and the girls on the other either helping with the amps or the drum set. They got it all up on stage and the guys got set up. So far only the host and about fifteen of his friends were there…the party didn't start for half an hour.

"So how is this gonna work again?" Cordelia asked the host, acting as spokesperson for the band.

"Well, let's see it's lasting from nine PM to two AM so here's what we'll do. Your band…Dingoes Ate My Baby, will play from nine to eleven. The other band, G.O.T.R, will play from eleven to one. And then we'll play normal music for about an hour." the host said nodding.

"G.O.T.R.?" Willow asked. "What does it stand for?"

"No idea…I mean I did know, but it's gone. I had it written somewhere…oh well." he shrugged. He turned away and walked to the bar.

"I can't believe he rented out this entire…hang out place!" Buffy said.

"Well there's going to be over two hundred people attending this party." Xander said as he approached them. They all look at him wondering why he was there before the rest of the band. "I'm lead singer, remember?"

The girls nodded.

"How in the world does he afford all this?" Willow asked her cousin.

"No idea…he's the Trump the second…or something. But he has one of these EVERY Thursday. Can you believe that? And since we're playing at the first one, we get in free the rest of the summer." Xander replied.

"That's awesome!" Buffy exclaimed. Xander winked at her. She shook her head with mock disgust.

"Well we have about half an hour to chill. Let's get some drinks." Oz said as he and the rest of the band approached the group. The friends agreed and they went over to the bar.

"I would like the non-alcoholic strawberry daiquiri." Cordelia said as she pointed to the board above the bartender's head.

"I want the same." Willow agreed.

"I want a non-alcoholic pina colada." Buffy said.

"Oh me too!" Xander said, putting his arm around Buffy. She smiled at him like he was her cousin instead of Willow's.

"I want that blue thing." Dawn said as she pointed to a drink under the 'non-alcoholic' section of the board.

"I'll just share that with her." Oz said and winked at Connor. Everyone had been a little shaky still about the two and it was the least Oz could do to take some of the heat off. He just hoped Willow wouldn't get mad.

Connor nodded. "I just have that stuff that looks like water but isn't."

"Same here." Angel agreed.

"Is that all for ya?" the bartender asked as he began making the drinks.

"Yep." Angel answered.

"Are you guys one of the bands?" he continued.

"Dingoes Ate my Baby." Oz told him.

"Interesting name." the man observed as he handed out the two strawberry daiquiris.

"Yeah…so how much do we owe you?" Cordelia asked pulling some money out of her bag.

"None, you're the band." the bartender told them as he set out the rest of the drinks. "Enjoy."

"Thank you Mr. …" Willow began.

"Willy…you all can call me Willy." he informed her and turned.

The group all shrugged at each other and inhaled their drinks, the party was supposed to start in five minutes and the band was supposed to be playing before anyone came in. The guys rushed up to the stage and the girls waited for the music.

As soon as the music started the girls started dancing and cheering. Soon the place is filled with partygoers dancing and talking and singing and just hanging. The girls stayed at the front of the stage cheering their friends on.

There were a lot of scantily dressed girls leaning up on the stage reaching out to touch the guys, but all the guys already had a 'girl' of their own to be looking at.

Only an hour into the party and a bunch of guys were drunk and running about the place like clowns. Girls were dancing with other girls and guys. Friends wereplaying pool, hanging on the couches or just making out in the corners.

Suddenly Buffy felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped as she spun around. It was Spike. His platinum blond hair was hidden under a black hat.

"Dance with me?" he asked as he grasped her hand.

"Sure." she smiled and walked with him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"This is the party I told you I was going to…my friends are playing." Buffy said over the music, pointing up to the band.

"Really…that's interesting…because my band is playing as well." Spike informed her. He pointed over to a bunch of punk guys sitting in a corner, practically in their own little cloud of smoke.

"Wow, I get to see both of you play." Buffy said.

"Yeah…both of who?" he asked suddenly. He spun her around and danced to her back. She lifted her arms up and put them around his neck.

"Oh my friends and their bands." she lied covering up the 'both angel and spike thing'.

"Oh that's cool. Me and my band are about to go on in half an hour, so we better spend our time wisely." he stated and spun Buffy around again. Within seconds they were grinding against each other, faces so close that they were almost kissing.

"Where'd Buffy get to?" Cordelia asked.

"Oh, some guy whisked her away, now they're off dancing." Willow told them, not taking her eyes off Oz.

"Oh right, so she just abandons Angel." Cordelia said slyly. She still sorta had that thing for Angel and since Xander hadn't talked to her at all…

She began dancing like a hooker, just to get his attention. But nothing could. He had his eyes locked on someone else. And that someone else was dancing with his girl. His Buffy.

'That guys is gonna find out.' he said to himself. But like Connor, everything had to be an argument, even if it was with the other him. And no he was not schizophrenic.

'Buffy isn't yours. You have Darla.'

'Darla isn't here. Buffy likes you.'

'Maybe since you have Darla, she's just going to get over you and move on to him'

'Well I'll dump Darla, I just don't want to see Buffy with him'

'You don't even know who 'he' is!'

'Yeah, but there's this familiar feeling…maybe when I see him up close…'

'Don't kid yourself.'

'I'm not'

'Just stop talking to you and start paying attention to what you're doing.'

And that was the end of his inner conversation. But he still couldn't believe that Buffy was dancing so closely with some guy she didn't even know.

Unless it was…

"Spike." Angel growled. Where had he heard that name before?

They finished the song and said their goodbyes for the night and cleared off the stage as the host welcomed the next band.

"That's me." Spike whispered into Buffy's ear through the silence of the space between bands.

"Good luck." Buffy sighed to him. When he let go of her she almost fell down. Needless to say she was getting over Angel and falling for Spike…and she was falling real fast.

The guys went to greet the girls and the next band started off with a slow dance. Cordelia grabbed Angel quickly, despite her conscience. It was just screaming, 'WHAT ABOUT BUFFY?' But then again, Buffy hadn't had much heart when she had just left the girls to go dance with some guy.

Willow and Oz paired up as well as Dawn and Connor. Buffy had no choice but to go with Xander. Not that he was so bad, but she really wanted to dance with Angel.

"We saw you dancing with that guy." Xander told her. "Angel didn't look happy."

"It's not really his business, doesn't he have a girlfriend?" Buffy shot back.

"Sorry, didn't mean to offend you, I was just wondering who he was." Xander explained.

"It was my new boyfriend…Spike." Buffy told him.

"That name…it rings a bell…it sort of…I think Angel had a friend named Spike once." Xander said, thinking hard.

"No, I told Angel about Spike already and he didn't seem to recognize him." Buffy explained.

"Really…" Xander thought.

Three Hours Later

The party had ended half an hour ago and somehow the group of friends found themselves on cleaning duty. As soon as the host went into the bathroom the teens got out of there.

"I'm sooo tired." Dawn whined. She was walking next to Connor, her head on his shoulder, his arm around her waist. Buffy was getting a piggy-back ride from Angel, and Oz and Willow were walking hand in hand. Apparently Oz did think they were going out. Of course Willow agreed with that.

Cordelia and Xander were walking on either side of the group, neither of them leaning on each other.

"Yeah I'm exhausted." Oz agreed.

"The pickles…I should've gotten Corona…pineapples…" Buffy mumbled. She had fallen asleep on Angel's back, worn down from all the excitement of the day.

The seven still awake teens laughed.

They finally arrived at the house at three AM and were greeted by two worried and annoyed parents.

"Do you children have any idea what time it is?" Giles exploded.

"I want everyone in bed except for Willow and Xander…you two are going to get a good talking-to." Jenny said, not as loud as Giles.

"Yes ma'am." Cordelia whispered and the six teens ran up to their rooms. They were too tired to discus anything and went to sleep right away.

Meanwhile Xander and Willow got in some hot water and were sent to bed. Let's just say neither of them would be having too much fun until Tuesday.

Yep they were grounded…and on their vacation too!


	8. Chapter 7 First Dates

Chapter 7- First Dates

A/N: This chapter was written by Willowzlilsecret...And...Sorry for the wait. I'll post two chapters as an apology...Do you forgive me?

Jenny and Giles both woke up at around the same time, ten AM. They both went through their normal morning routines: Jenny showered, dressed, put on her make up, and went downstairs to greet the kids. Giles brushed his teeth, changed his clothes, grabbed his books and went downstairs to say goodbye to everyone.

Well, since Jenny beat him downstairs like she usually did, he was greeted by an unexpected surprised. Jenny had her purse and was getting ready to leave.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked. "You have to watch Willow and Xander."

"No, you have to, I'm going shopping, I haven't gone at all since we came." Jenny objected.

"Oh yes you are, I already have plans." Giles said firmly.

"To what? Go to that musty little library to eat scones and wear tweed?" she shot back.

"No. To research some things we've discovered." Giles said calmly.

"Like what?" Jenny sighed, already giving in to defeat.

"Well…I'll tell you tonight…it's not something to be discussed…right now." Giles said and left without eating. Jenny rolled her eyes and sighed, setting her purse down. 'Well he'll have to watch them tomorrow…I can't do it every day.' she assured herself. She went back upstairs and changed into some workout clothes.

"If I can't get some shopping done…maybe I can work out some." she said and stuck a 'Denise Austin; Buns Of Steel' in the DVD player.

She finished the 'beginners' section of the workout in ten minutes; the estimated time. She wondered where all the kids were, and why they were still asleep. Then she remembered. It was the whole reason that she was home instead of out shopping.

"Kids." she muttered and changed the disk to 'Denise Austin's: Hit the Spot; Thighs' It was another ten minute workout. By the time she finished that one, she was sweating and needed a drink. She poured herself some ice water and drank it as the DVD ran through the credits. When it was done it returned to the main menu and beach music blared through the speakers. Jenny ran over quickly to turn it down, but just decided to switch the disk. She put in 'Denise Austin: Six Minute Waist Trimmer' It would be her last one for the day.

She finished off her water while the commercials ran through and a warning about health issues and how you couldn't sue if you got hurt using this tape.

So she finished her last exercise and went up for another shower. By the time she finished it was eleven. So she decided to start lunch. She was interrupted by the dogs.

So she fed the dogs and decided she would let Cordelia, Dawn, and Bunny take them for a walk when they got up.

"Who gives their child a name like bunny?" she asked and shrugged. She wrote in on a post-it note and stuck it on the fridge. She then started making lunch.

She made a pitcher of lemonade and a pitcher of Kool-Aid. Then she started working on the food. Hot dogs and baked beans. Sounded good to her. She started making the beans and set a timer for when they would be done. She then went up to her room and changed into her bathing suit. She went out and started grilling the hot dogs and getting a tan.

She finished the hot dogs and brought them up just as the timer went off. She set the dogs on the counter and got the beans out. It's rather ironic how Beans is also the name of one of their dogs, don't you think?

She ate her hot dog and went out on the deck to start tanning.

The smell awoke the first of the teens…and of course it was Xander. He rushed downstairs to eat his food, but decided he should probably wake everyone else up too. He started with Oz…who just so happened to not be in his bed.

"Wonder where he went…" Xander muttered and moved on to Angel and Connor.

"Up and at 'em Sleepy Heads!" he called, startling Connor awake. Connor was a pretty light sleeper, so he was easy to wake up. Angel on the other hand…

It took both Connor and Xander to wake him up, flipping the mattress so that he fell off the bed and clear onto the floor. He finally woke up.

"Now for the girls!" Xander said. The room resounded with 'no!'

"Or not. Let's eat!"

"You cooked?" Angel asked.

"Nah, they were just there when I woke up." Xander explained.

"So they just magically appeared cause that's what Xander was hungry for?" Connor asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"Yeah…pretty much." Xander answered nodding. Connor and Angel exchanged looks then headed downstairs.

When they got down there, the saw Oz, sleeping soundly on the couch, holding his pillow over his head.

"Wake up bud." Xander said, shaking his friend awake.

"I'm here…what's cookin'?" Oz asked.

"Hot dogs…and they're already cooked." Xander answered and smiled his goofy smiled. Oz chuckled and the boys grabbed their food and ate.

About halfway through the meal the girls came down.

"Hey Bunny, you, Dawn, and Cordelia have to walk the dogs." Xander said, holding up the post-it.

"Oh my gosh, when is she going to get through her brain that her name is BuFFEE not BuNNEEE?" Cordelia asked, exasperated.

"What about Willow?" Buffy asked.

"Me and her are grounded." Xander answered, stuffing yet another hot dog in his mouth. Buffy sighed and put her hands on her hips. Now, in case you people haven't figured it out, Beans and Snoopy are attached to Buffy meaning…

Good job, yes they are running in circles around Buffy's legs, yipping like lunatics.

"Well we might as well take them on their walk." Dawn said, her voice scratchy from disuse. She and the other girls went upstairs to change.

"I wonder if they change in the same room." Xander said aloud.

Angel cleared his throat to hold down a laugh, and he, Connor, and Oz exchanged looks.

"What? What'd I say?" Xander asked. He shrugged then went back to talking to himself.

"Do they watch each other change? Maybe I could switch bodies with Willow and watch Buffy change. Or better yet…be Buffy…and look at myself naked." Xander continued.

Angel's face changed from amused to annoyed and Connor and Oz continued trying to hold down their laughs. Suddenly a snicker escaped Connor's lips and he quickly covered it with a cough, therefore making Oz laugh harder, his face turning red. Xander, who was totally oblivious to the fact that he was actually speaking and the fact that Oz was about to die, continued to talk. Angel's face finally turned back to one of amusment.

So the girls came back downstairs and Willow was left with the guys to keep herself entertained so they all decided to watch TV until the other girls came back.

So Buffy, Cordelia and Dawn leashed up all four of the dogs and started off on their walk.

"Let's stop at Rite-Aid to get some stuff for the 'Girl's Night' on Sunday." Buffy suggested.

"NO WAY!" Dawn objected and Cordelia quickly agreed with her.

"Ok, ok, don't kill me, we'll just go to CVS." Buffy said, putting her hands up in the air in surrender.

"Good. That's much better." Cordelia said, smiling. So the went into CVS and Dawn was left outside to watch the dogs. It was a 'no dogs allowed' sort of place.

So Buffy and Cordelia had to make it snappy.

"Here's what we do. You get drinks and nail polish, I get snacks, cameras, and magazines, then we meet at the register? Got it? Good." Cordelia said and went to the snack aisle. Buffy shrugged and went back to the drink section.

Cordelia looked through the snacks and grabbed a couple bags of different types of chips; Regular, Barbeque, Sour Cream and Onion, Salt and Vinegar.

Then she grabbed a couple boxes of Chips Ahoy and Oreos. She moved on to the magazines. She picked out a couple of magazines for the guys and a couple for the girls. And she moved on to the cameras. She picked out eight and decided that if anyone wanted another one, they'd just have to pay for it themselves. She headed towards the counter.

Buffy was standing in the back, already holding five huge bottles of drinks, she had two orange Fantas, Coke, Sprite, and Gingerale. She pulled out a Root Beer and a Dr. Pepper and a Diet Coke and went over to the nail polish.

She couldn't decide which ones she liked best and since they were all only one dollar each and Cordelia was paying for them, she took one of each. She rushed up to the counter before she dropped anything. Then Cordelia emerged from an aisle and paid for everything.

"Would you girls like bags for this?" the lady behind the counter asked.

"Yes please." Buffy said nodding. Cordelia glanced out the window and saw Dawn being dragged across the parking lot by the dogs who were chasing a sea gull.

"Save your sister." Cordelia commanded as she pulled out her credit card.

"Oh Jeez!" Buffy said and rushed out to help Dawn.

"Your total comes to 63.50." the lady said. Cordelia handed her the card and picked up all the bags. The lady handed her back the card and Cordelia stuck it in her pocket and left.

By the time she got out there, Buffy had control of the dogs. Dawn came over and grabbed three bags, Buffy took one, and Cordelia had the other three.

"Let's get home." Dawn said, sounding worn.

"I agree." Buffy said. And the three headed home.

When they got home everyone was sitting on the couch watching TV. It was Scooby Doo.

"We're home!" Cordelia called and put all the bags down on the counter.

"What'd you get?" Xander asked as he hopped up and shuffled over to the bags.

"A bunch of stuff for the next few nights when we won't be able to go anywhere." Buffy said setting her bag down and taking the dogs off their leash.

Dawn set her bag down as well and plopped down on next to Connor. Buffy shot her a suspicious look, but waived it off.

"I know what we should do." Oz said as he switched off the TV.

"Oh good it doesn't involve cartoons." Cordelia sighed.

"What is it?" Willow asked.

"I can play my guitar and we can all sing…songs that we know." Oz said as he picked up his guitar.

Everyone agreed. They started out singing together and then it turned into solos, going around the circle.

First Cordelia sang. She had a lot of…spirit. She definitely wasn't the worst singer, but she wasn't the best.

Then Buffy sang. She had a beautiful voice…she didn't go real high or anything, but she was a good singer.

Then Willow sang. She was pretty good, but she didn't like singing, or being the focus of attention, so her part ended quickly. Then it was Oz.

He sang real softly, but he was good, and he also ended his part quickly.

Then it was Connor's turn. He sang, and he sang pretty well, glancing every now and then to Dawn who was beaming proudly.

Then it was Dawn's turn. She also had a very small part, but a very pretty voice.

Then Xander. He began singing. He was so good that the whole room lit up. Then it was Angel's turn. He didn't sing. Everyone looked at him expectantly.

"I don't sing." he said simply.

"Come on! Do it for me!" Cordelia begged, flashing him a smile. Buffy felt annoyance wash over her. Cordelia had been flirting with Angel a lot lately and it was getting on her last nerve.

"No." Angel said firmly.

"Pleeease." Buffy tried and made a puppy-dog pout face. He gave in and began singing.

Immediately everyone wished they had just left him alone. He was a terrible singer. But he was smiling like he didn't even know he was bad. Buffy almost felt sorry for him, but they were having so much fun that it didn't really matter.

They went around a couple more times, singing a couple songs, and finally finished. By this time they all drank a couple cans of soda and were halfway through their second bag of chips.

"Well I think its time we finish our championships!" Xander said, standing up and stretching.

"Yeah, I am sooo gonna beat you." Connor said as he stood. Angel and Oz followed and each grabbed a bag of chips. Connor grabbed a bottle of soda and Xander grabbed a few plastic cups out of the cabinet.

"Yeah right…I am the King." Xander objected.

"I thought you were the Prince…" the voices faded as the guys went downstairs.

"So…who's up for a swim?" Willow asked. All of the girls agreed and changed into their bathing suits. They splashed around for an hour or so and finally went into the hot tub to calm down a little.

"I can't wait until seven!" Buffy gushed.

"What's at seven?" Dawn asked.

"My date, silly!" Buffy answered hitting Dawn lightly on the arm.

"Oh my gosh. It's five already…we still have to plan and get you ready…and you have to take a shower and oh no!" Willow said, glancing at her watch.

"Oh wow…its that late already?" Buffy asked as the girls jumped out of the hot tub and rushed inside.

"Yeah! Now go take a shower and we'll get everything ready!" Willow urged as she, Cordelia, and Dawn disappeared into her and Buffy's room.

"Ok…" Buffy agreed as she pulled out the dress she wanted to wear. It was cream colored with cherries and cherry flowers all over it. It was short and had spaghetti straps.

Buffy went into the shower and the other girls went to work.

When they were finally done planning, they sat down on the beds, discussing what they would do.

"How about we watch the 'championship' then go to the movies?" Dawn suggested.

"Good idea, except me and Xander can't leave the house." Willow said.

"Oh yeah…" Dawn sighed.

"Well, we can watch their video games and then go rent some movies from blockbusters." Cordelia said.

"Oh that's good!" Dawn agreed.

"Then we can swim when it gets dark! In the pool, I mean…not the actual ocean." Willow said nodding. The girls agreed on their plans for the night, and turned on some music.

Buffy came in, her hair wrapped up in a towel, wearing the dress. Willow ushered her to a seat.

"Ok, Buffy, keep your eyes closed the whole time!" Willow said. "Girls…lets get to work."

Cordelia did her hair, Willow did her nails, and Dawn did make-up. Cordelia brushed through Buffy's wet hair and blow-dried it. Since Dawn couldn't do anything until Cordelia was done, she helped Willow paint the cream colored base-coat on all of Buffy's nails…toenails included.

Cordelia, after finishing with the blow-dryer, began curling Buffy's hair. Not actual curls, but soft waves. She let a few chunks hang out and pulled the rest into a low ponytail.

"It says, my hair looks good without me spending hours working on it." Cordelia announced. "And I am done for the night."

Dawn then went to work on the make up. She put a very little amount of blush on her sister's cheeks, not enough to make them a different color, just enough to give them sparkle. Then she put on a little light red eye shadow and red lipstick. Once again, it was nothing overdone, just a glossy red. Then she put some mascara on, and also declared that she was done. Willow was also done, and was very proud of herself. All of Buffy's nails were cream colored and on either of her big toes, there were two cherries.

The girls smiled proudly as Buffy opened her eyes.

"Wow! I look great!" she smiled. She picked out her shoes, and sat waiting for the nail polish to dry before she put them on.

"Here…you might need this." Cordelia said, handing her a stick of gum.

"Gee, thanks Cordelia." Buffy said sarcastically as she popped the gum in her mouth. Downstairs the doorbell rang.

"Don't let Angel open it." Buffy said. Willow raced down to get it. She and Angel were at almost the same place, but Angel got to it first. Willow stopped dead in her tracks and ran back up to Buffy to tell her.

"William." Angel growled.

"Angel! Just to let you know, I go by Spike now." Spike told him nodding.

"Is that something that the other band made up for you?" Angel asked coolly.

"No, it's something I made up myself." Spike said.

"Why are you here?" Angel asked.

"Vacation…now where's my—" Spike started but stopped as he saw Buffy descending the stairs.

"Spike." she said smiling.

"Buffy…you look gorgeous." Spike said in awe. Angel spun around to see her, and he also was taken by surprise. Both of them stood staring at her.

"Buffy I'm not sure if you should be going out with-" Angel began to tell her.

"I don't care. I don't care what you think. I don't even know you that well, and I don't want you telling me what I should and should not do." Buffy interrupted and walked down to Spike's side.

"Fine." Angel said and turned away.

"We'll talk later." Buffy promised as she shut the door.

"Angel…interesting bloke…how'd you come about living with him?" Spike inquired.

"Well…he's my friend. How do you know him?" Buffy asked suddenly.

"Used to be my friend. Then he wouldn't let me sing. I can't play any instrument so I couldn't be in their stupid band. He's all forehead you know?" Spike told her, stealing a look at her. She smiled and hugged him around the waist as the walked. Spike kept his arm around her protectively.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Party." he answered as they stopped at his motorcycle.

"This is yours!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah…you like?" he asked, a mischievous glint in his cerulean eyes.

"Yeah its…awesome!" she squealed. "I can't wait to tell Cordelia…"

"She one of the girls you were dancing with last night?" Spike asked as he hopped on the bike, putting a helmet on.

"Yeah…she's the one that likes to flirt with my…with Angel…she likes to flirt with Angel." Buffy told him.

"Your Angel?" Spike prompted.

"No, I meant…I was going to say my friend, but he's her friend too, so…" Buffy lied. Spike seemed to buy it. She got on the back of the motorcycle and also put a helmet on. She put her arms around Spike's waist and he started the bike.

The went zooming down the empty street, down for almost fifteen minutes.

"Where are we going?" Buffy asked again.

"Somewhere special." Spike said laughing.

Finally he stopped the bike in the middle of nowhere and removed his helmet, pulling Buffy off. She also took off her helmet.

"Where are we?" she asked, a little scared now.

"Just wait." he said and put his arm around her. He walked her down the road a little ways and there was a small restaurant on the side of the road. It was an old fashioned diner. On top it read, 'The Soda Jerk' Buffy smiled in delight and kissed Spike on the cheek.

"It's so cute!" she squealed excitedly.

"I thought you'd like it." Spike said with a half smile. They walked in and sat down at an empty table.

"Oh my gosh! This is so…well…there are no words for it…" Buffy sighed.

Spike held her hands over the table and waited for their waitress. She came wearing a light blue outfit and a little hat.

"What'll it be for you kids?" she asked smiling.

"Oh! I haven't even looked at the menu!" Buffy said, letting go of Spike's hands.

"Ok, well I'll just get drinks for now." the lady said smiling. Her nametag read Joanne.

"Ok…well I want that Coke thing…the vanilla one." Buffy said pointing to a drink on the menu.

"One Vanilla coke for the girl…how about you?" she asked turning to Spike.

"I'll have the same." he said winking at Buffy. His eyes…his smile…his everything just sent tingles up her spine. She smiled back shyly and hid her face behind a menu. Spike smiled slyly.

At The House

"Ok, Jenny is just up in her room. So if you guys need anything…well she is your mom…and aunt." Dawn said as she, Cordelia, Angel, Connor, and Oz prepared to leave.

"Yeah so we'll get some good movies to keep us occupied a while and then go back down for more video games." Connor assured them and he and Dawn stepped outside.

"I'm really sorry that we have to leave you guys here." Oz said, kissing Willow on the forehead before he stepped out.

"Yeah…but we'll all have fun together!" Angel assured and followed his friends.

"What they said." Cordelia said and rushed out behind them.

"So…how bout a good game of Go Fish." Xander suggested.

"Sure…just like good times." Willow nodded and grabbed a deck of cards.

At The Diner

Buffy and Spike's food arrived and they ate in silence except for occasional conversation such as;

"Where are you from?"

"How old are you again?"

"Are you busy on Tuesday?"

Et cetera. They finished their food and decided on an old fashion desert…sharing a chocolate milkshake.

While they waited Buffy used this time to really appreciate Spike. He had electric blue eyes, twinkling as if they were holding a secret. Perfect teeth and a mischievous half smile. High cheek bones that accented his face. Usually he had his hair slicked back, but tonight it was curly and just hanging around his face. She almost immediately decided that she liked his hair best like that. He was holding her hands over the table again. He had perfect hands. His nails were painted black and he had a few bracelets on. He also had a few necklaces on. On was a lock. She briefly wondered about it, but just decided it was because of his punk friends.

Little did she know, he was doing the same for her. He almost couldn't take his eyes of her beautiful green eyes. The perfect smile. Golden hair. Nice body. And best of all, she just had this adorable way of acting all the time. She seemed to always be smiling and having fun. He loved the way she would let him hold her hands and just look into his eyes…

Both of them snapped out of their thoughts when Joanne came back with the milkshake.

At The House

All the teens were downstairs playing video games…still working on the championship. Right now it was brother against brother.

Angel and Connor were battling it out, and they couldn't even stay seated. They were hopping about the room. Everyone was having a blast, taking pictures, and wishing Buffy was there.

"Oh you're going dooown!" Connor yelled smiling.

"Like hell I am!" Angel objected. Everyone was gathered around the screen.

"I play winner!" Dawn said, hoping it would be Connor.

"Well you're gonna be playing against me." Angel told her confidently. He winked at her quickly. Bad move. Connor won.

"I play Connor!" Dawn said as she took the controller from Angel.

"Go Dawn! Go Dawn!" Willow and Cordelia cheered.

"No way, Connor is so gonna win!" Angel said.

"Yeah right…well try not to be embarrassed when you get beat by a girl!" Cordelia warned.

At The Diner

Spike paid for the food and he and Buffy walked out of the diner, arms around each other. Buffy started towards the car, but Spike pulled her back.

"Now where are we going?" Buffy asked.

"It's a surprise." Spike whispered as he put a hand over her eyes. He led her somewhere; arm tight around her waist to make sure she didn't fall.

She heard the ocean and he moved his hand from her eyes. They were in a little cove at the ocean. It was totally dark and Spike switched on a flashlight.

The light reflected off the water and sent ripples of light on the walls of the cave.

"It's beautiful!" she sighed.

At The House

They had finished the championships and somehow Oz had managed to win. They were all sitting on the family room floor playing pictionary as one of the movies played. They had plastic cups and chips scattered everywhere.

"Uh…it's a monk!" Cordelia shouted as she studied Dawn's drawing. Dawn shook her head frantically.

"5…" Xander said, stating the seconds left.

"A nun!" Willow tried. Dawn shook her head again.

"3…" Xander said.

"Priest?" Cordelia said.

"Yes!" Dawn laughed.

"Dude…who would pick a priest?" Connor asked. Dawn punched him lightly.

"My turn!" Xander exclaimed excitedly. He picked out a card and grinned evilly. All three of the girls exchanged looks.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Willow commented.

On The Beach

Spike and Buffy walked hand in hand along the beach, not going in the water because Spike didn't want to ruin his new combat boots.

"This was…amazing…to say the least…but it's getting late…and I really should be getting home." Buffy said bitterly, she wanted this night to last forever.

"Hafta get back to your Angel?" he half joked. Angel was the last thing on her mind.

"Angel…nope." she said shaking her head.

"Ok, well you're right, its almost midnight." Spike said. They walked back up to his motorcycle and sped off back to the house.

At The House

"I hear a motorcycle." Xander said.

"Spike has a motorcycle…I think that Buffy's finally home." Angel agreed.

"Let's go break up anything that might happen." Xander said with a serious look on his face.

"Yeah, lets." Angel confirmed.

"All you have to do is start singing real loud when you see them start to kiss." Xander joked.

"Hey!" Angel protested laughing. They opened the door just as Buffy and Spike were about to kiss.

"Whoa!" Angel said, forgetting everything he was about to say.

"Didn't mean to interrupt." Xander joked.

"Well…I'll see you soon Buffy." Spike said and kissed her on the cheek. He didn't want to have Mr. Forehead standing there when he had his first kiss with Buffy. He strode off and hopped on his motorcycle and drove away.

"Hey guys." Buffy said as she pushed her way through and joined everyone in the living room.

"Now that Buffy's here, we can go swimming!" Xander said. Everyone rushed up to their rooms to change into their bathing suits.

And so the teens swam until Giles got home and made them go to bed, where everyone had a restful sleep.

So far, being grounded wasn't that bad.


	9. Chapter 8 Still Grounded

Chapter 8: Still Grounded...

A/N: Chapter written by Ozlover.

"Giles, honey? Wake up!" Jenny chirped as she bustled around the bedroom.

"Huh?" Giles sat up and reached over onto the nightstand by the bed to retrieve his glasses. Once he had them he wiped the lenses repeatedly and put them on. "Why so early, Dear?" He asked, trying not to sound mad, although he was.

"It's your turn to baby-sit the delinquints." Jenny replied simply. Giles sighed and fell back onto the pillow. "And I suppose your going shopping."

"We have a winner." Jenny leaned over and pecked him on the cheek. "See you in a few hours. Have fun." She called over her shoulder, loving how she was putting him through the same torture he put her through yesterday. Giles groaned and practically fell out of bed. He trudged downstairs to make a pot of tea. He had a feeling he was going to need it.

Giles saw that Oz was awake on the couch, staring at the ceiling in silence. So he turned on the TV. They sat together in silence for about five minutes until Willow came down the stairs.

"Morning..." She mumbled, nearly tripping on the bottom step.

"Morning, Will." Oz replied sweetly. Willow sauntered over and plopped down on the couch next to him.

"What are we watching?" She asked.

"Morning news." Oz said.

"Mmmmkay." Willow replied sleepily. Oz smiled and gently put his arm around her shoulder.

Shrill yips sounded from upstairs. Willow sat upright. There were more yips. Seconds later a pissed Buffy came thumping down the stairs.

"Somebody shoot me." She replied dryly. Beans and Snoopy bounded down the stairs, heading straight for Buffy. Willow, seeing that Buffy was about to snap, reached over and scooped Snoopy up and handed him to Oz. She then grabbed Beans and set him on her lap.

Buffy muttered a 'thank you' and went into the kitchen.

"She's not a morning person." Willow whispered, afraid that she would hear. Giles and Oz nodded in understanding.

Dawn and Cordelia were the next to come down. "Hey." Dawn greeted.

She was greeted by a few smiling faces. She and Cordelia went into the kitchen looking for cereal. They were greeted with the site of Buffy sleeping with her head literally centimeters from a full bowl of cereal. Dawn and Cordelia giggled.

"Spike..." Buffy mumbled into the table. "Give me back my 'drinking pants'. I need those...I need the Corona you took from me last night...and I want those grey pickles too...I thought I told you to go to McDonalds and get me some...What happened? I need to present those pickles to the judges...Angel will be mad if you don't give me my Corona back..."

"Oh, boy." Dawn replied. She slid the cereal bowl away from her sister's head, incase she decided to spaz out and knock things over in her sleep. Buffy had used the last of the cereal, so Dawn and Cordelia brought out left-over chips from the night before. They went into the living room and offered the chips to anyone who wanted them. Xander, who had woken up a few minutes before, snatched them first and refused to share.

"Xander..." Willow warned. She looked at him sternly. he sighed and set the chips in front of him. By that time, Connor and Angel were downstairs as well.

"I can't believe I'm up this early..." Connor muttered.

"It's not early. It's ten o'clock." Willow replied. It was true. It only seemed early because of the dark thunderclouds hovering over the beach. Cordelia walked over towards the sliding glass door and peered outside at the ocean being sloshed around by the wind, spewing foam left and right. Then something red caught her eye. It was her beach towel sliding across the shore, being picked up and dropped again by the violent wind.

She cursed under her breath and pulled the sliding door open without thinking.

"Cordy, what's wrong?" Buffy asked from the kitchen doorway. Apparently she had just woken up again.

"I'll be right back!" She called over her shoulder. Giles was too flustered to say anything. Dawn lept off the floor and followed her onto the wet, sticky shore. It wasn't raining hard yet, but the wind sent it driving into the girl's faces. By the time they reached the spot where the towel was, a strong gust of wind blew it out of Cordelia's reach. It went flying behind over by some houses next to hers (not _hers_ but you know what I mean.) As they were getting close to it, a hand reached out from between two houses and grabbed it.

Cordelia stopped dead in her tracks. How dare someone take her fifty dollar beach towel? And right in front of her too! She thought. She plowed through the wet sand to where the hand had appeared from. When she and Dawn reached the space between the two houses they saw a man standing there, holding her towel. Cordelia forgot all of her rage towards the man. He didn't look like he took her towel to piss her off.

"Um, that's my towel." Cordelia replied, refusing to make eye-contact with the man.

"Oh? This? I just saw it flying around and figured that I'd take it and turn it in to the lost and found at the other end of the beach." The man told her. He handed it to her.

"Thanks." Cordelia finally looked up at the man. He was tall, with nicely bronzed skin. He had sandy brown hair and big, hazel eyes. But he looked almost thirty, which was too old for Cordelia. Besides, she had Xander...well, maybe...and she had Angel...

Dawn also thought that he was too old for either of them, but he was still nice looking...

"By the way, my name's Mike." He informed them. he extended his hand and both girls shook it politely.

"I'm Cordelia."

"And I'm Dawn."

"Well, I have to go, but it was really nice to meet you." Mike told them.

"You too." Dawn replied, smiling warmly. She and Cordelia jogged back to the house, trying to use the towel to shield themselves from the pelting rain. Mike watched them until they disappeared inside the house. Then he left. He had somewhere to be.

When the girls returned they dried off, then received a stern lecture from Giles about the dangers of going out onto the beach during a thunderstrom. He didn't take back their priviledge of leaving the house, though.

The guys were about to head downstairs to play video games and the girls were going to go with then to cheer their boyfriends on, but a special news alert came on the TV.

A woman was sitting in a news room. The words "Missing Girl" were written boldly in red on the screen above her.

"This just in, a girl has disappreared in the immediate area, around Carolina Beach." She paused, taking a breath. Carolina Beach. That was where on the Atlantic Coast they were staying. "She was reported missing around six AM this morning. The last place she was seen was down near the beach with some friends. The friends have been questioned and all have said that the girl, Brooke Saunders, left the beach around midnight to head back to her home, which is ten minutes away. She never made it there." The woman paused again. A picture of the missing girl was up on the screen.

She had long, curly dark brown hair and big blue eyes. Her skin was fair and she looked to be about seventeen. The same age as them.

The picture stayed up for awhile before shrinking into the corner of the screen. The woman continued "If you've seen Brooke, or have any information that might help us in our search for her, please call this number." A phone number appeared on the screen.

The eight teens plus one librarian didn't know what to say.

"Wow. She disappeared so close to here." Buffy said. She was petting Beans and Snoopy who had calmed down and were snoozing in her lap. Turtle was in his usual spot under the coffee table and Fuzzball was sitting on the couch in front of Willow and Oz, who were both petting him.

"Yeah..." Willow said, obviously nervous. Oz held her hand comfortingly.

"I know you kids have enough common sense to know this, but you need to be extra cautious outside the house." Giles said, taking off his glasses to wipe at them with a cloth he pulled from his shirt pocket. All eight teens nodded solemnly, then left the room in silence. They headed downstairs to the basement.

Giles needed to research...

It was quiet for awhile until the seriousness from before wore off.

"Oz is gonna kick your butt!" Willow told Xander.

"We'll just see about that." Xander countered, grinning like an idiot.

It turned out that Oz won...again. They really needed more video games. Maybe Dance Dance Revolution...

Since the only thing that Giles could make were scones and tea the teens had to make their own lunch. They mostly ate chips, left-over hotdogs, popcorn and microwavable lasagna.

The sky was getting lighter, but it was still fairly dark and raining. But there was no thunder, which meant they could go swimming in the pool. So everyone changed into their bathingsuits and went outside. There was no screen over the pool, so the plump raindrops splashed down on them as they got into the pool.

Xander was the first one in, doing a maniac-like cannonball. Everything that wasn't wet from the rain got soaked from his jump. Poor Turtle was so shocked that he picked up his huge body and sped away faster than anyone had ever seen him run.

Everyone decided to play Marco Polo. It was hard, because the pool was close to Olympic-size. When Cordelia was Marco, she 'accidentally' grabbed Angel. Okay, so maybe she peeked once...

They stayed in the pool for another hour or so. After that they went back downstairs. Connor and Dawn went upstairs to get the disposbale cameras. They also had some alone time together, which they used to their advantage...until Dawn was afraid it would be suspicious how long they were taking. Connor was upset at first, but he cooled off quickly.

Their camera war lasted for nearly an hour. Or, until they ran out of film. They got some good pictures of their signifigant other, coupled with them and then all hell broke loose when Xander randomly started to run around snapping pcitures. By the time the war ended everyone was exausted. Not to mention very hungry. Jenny was home by then, and they wouldn't have to make their own lunch again. Thank God...

Jenny didn't make anything. Instead she ordered out for Chinese. She ordered too much, so they'd have left-overs for who knows how long. Not long after dinner the phone rang.

"Hello?" Jenny asked into the phone. She was silent as she listened to the person on the other line. "Ok, I'll get her."

"Cordelia? The phone's for you!" Jenny called into the living room, where the kids were watching TV. Cordelia looked around, seeing confused expressions that matched her own. How would someone know she was staying there? She picked up the phone in the living room.

"Hello?" Cordelia asked shakily.

"I know where you are. It's only a matter of time before I make an impression that no one will ever forget." A man's ragged voice said.

There was a long beep. He had hung up.

Cordelia could feel herself being drained of color. She probably looked albino or something. Her friends looked at her expectanty.

She couldn't think of anything to say. She sure as hell didn't want to scare her friends..."Wrong number." She replied dully.

"I'll be right back." Cordelia got up and went upstairs. Dawn followed her. The others knew she was lying about the call. they decided that they'd ask her about it later.

"Who was on the phone?" Dawn asked nervously. "Who?"

"I think it was the guy f-from Rite Aid."

"Oh my God. What did he say?" Dawn asked, the color draining from her face as well.

"He said...that...He knows where we are. And it won't be long before he does something no one will ever forget." Cordelia looked like she would burst into tears.

"What should we do? Should we tell everyone else? Should we call the cops?" Dawn asked frantically.

"No. I don't want to scare anyone...We should keep this just between us, okay?" Cordelia asked.

"Okay." Dawn agreed.

The two girls headed back downstairs, more composed than before. They stayed up until three AM before going to bed. All but Cordelia and Dawn, that is. There would be no sleep for them for awhile.


	10. Chapter 9 Girl's Night

Chapter 9 -Girl's Night

A/N: This chapter was written by Willowzlilsecret. Please review!

"It's your turn again." Giles mumbled as he and Jenny arose from their bed that morning.

"Unfortunately yes." Jenny sighed as they went about their normal routine.

"I'm going to be at the library all day, and possibly late into the night." Giles said.

"What are you doing there?" Jenny asked from the shower.

"It's nothing. I don't want to alarm you unless there's absolute need to do so." Giles said as he brushed his teeth.

"Well saying that already has me alarmed!" Jenny said softly.

"I didn't quite catch that." Giles said and changed into some new tweed.

"Nothing, I said, I have a good day sweetie." Jenny called.

"Ok, I'm off." he said. He left extra early that day, already sleep-deprived enough. He really didn't need this on his vacation. Unfortunately, it was his job. Jenny once again was up before anyone else and went down to let the dogs out and then feed them. She ate a little cereal herself, and switched on the TV.

"Body of the missing girl was found today…raped and murdered. If you see this man;" a pause and a picture came up next to the news reporter. "Do not let him in, and call the police immediately." The reporter disappeared and the picture took the full screen. He was a scruffy looking man, obviously evil eyes, a rather large nose, unshaven beard, and droopy eyes. He was disgusting and Jenny could practically smell him through the television screen. She shook her head and let the dogs back in. She filled their water and food dishes and went back up to her room, deciding that she'd get spooked to easily if she was up around the house all alone.

She lay in her bed, trying to focus on the fan on the ceiling, ignoring any noises around the house. She heard the creaking of floorboards and footsteps. She kept telling herself it was just the dogs, but she couldn't help feeling scared. She put some headphones on and turned on her new CD. 'Sounds of the Wind' Even though it was supposed to be the wind, it sounded like the ocean. It calmed her until she fell asleep.

Five Hours Later

Oz finally woke up to the sound of the television. He had been trying to ignore it for hell knows how long, and he finally got fed up. It was invading his dreams and he didn't like it. He stretched and went over to make a pot of coffee. That sort of made him sound and feel like an old fart. But he needed coffee…he hadn't gotten a good night's sleep for the longest time.

Willow emerged from the stairs and snuck over to Oz, surprising him with a hug. He jumped a little. He had heard enough to know that there was a serial rapist on the loose, and he definitely was a little wigged. He put his arm around Willow and hugged her tightly to him, not wanting to loose the only other awake being in the house. Discluding the dogs.

"Why are you so weird?" Willow asked as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I don't know…something I heard on the news." Oz said, waiting for the coffee to finish.

"Did they find that missing girl?" Willow asked, concerned. "I dunno." Oz said, shrugging his shoulders. He kept his arms wrapped around Willow, just waiting for someone else to wake up. He felt like he had to protect Willow and he didn't know if he could. He was kind of small, meaning it would be difficult to defend both himself and his girlfriend. But he was glad to have some sort of company.

Finally Connor came down the stairs, rubbing his eyes. "Coffee?"

"Yeah…just having some coffee after a fair night of the wiggins." Willow explained.

"Why were we wigged?" Connor asked.

"Missing girl." Willow answered.

Connor shrugged and looked at Oz for some sort of affirmation. Oz shook his head, signaling there was more to be said, but not in front of Willow. Connor nodded his understanding and turned the TV to cartoons. Soon after the whole gang was down eating cereal and drinking coffee, milk, orange juice, and other random drinks. Then someone changed the channel to the news. Fortunately there was no mention of the rapist.

"Well Dawn and I have to walk the dogs. Anyone wanna come with?" Cordelia asked.

"Well we wanted to pick up some new video games…could we stop by there?" Connor asked, standing up.

"Yeah if we do, then I'm in." Oz said, using the chance to tell Connor about the rapist. They could tell the other guys later.

"Sure." Dawn said, glad that Connor was coming. Since Cordelia and Oz both knew about them, they could probably kiss a little, stuff like that. The four raced around the house, trying to get Beans on a leash. Willow, Xander, Angel, and Buffy remained on the couches, either half-asleep, actually watching the TV, or grounded. When the dogs were caught, Cordelia and the gang left.

"Let's play Sorry." Buffy suggested. Xander agreed and pulled the board game out. The four teens began the game.

At The Store

Oz and Connor went through the aisles looking for something good.

"What is it you had to tell me?" Connor asked. Dawn and Cordelia were outside trying not to be pulled away by the dogs.

"There's a rapist." Oz said solemnly.

"What? Where?" Connor asked, glancing back to the girls, afraid to leave them alone.

"The missing girl was found today. Raped and Murdered. They know who did it…he has a criminal record…they just can't find him." Oz answered the first question.

"Where?" Connor repeated, looking Oz in the eye.

"Here. In this town…somewhere. Joseph Jacobs…or something like that." Oz shrugged.

"Well…I'm pretty sure we should just pay for these and get home…now." Connor said waving the four games they had already chosen. Oz agreed and they walked outside. Connor immediately went up to Dawn and cupped her face in his hands. He kissed her softly on the lips.

"Well, whatever caused this…I like." Dawn said and hugged him. He held her protectively close to him and Oz kept Cordelia at a safe distance.

"Hey! Cordelia!" a man's voice rang out. Cordelia whipped around. There stood Mike.

"Oh, hi Mike! What's up?" she asked as everyone stopped.

"Nothing much, I've been looking for you actually." Mike said. Connor felt his insides freeze. He had a bad feeling about this guy. He glanced at Oz…Oz obviously felt the same.

"Really?" Cordelia said smiling.

"Yeah…I wanted to make sure you were ok." Mike said, with a half smile.

"Why wouldn't she be?" Dawn cut in.

"There's a rapist out and around town. Maybe you've seen him." Mike asked, pulling out a picture of Joe. Cordelia's breath caught in her throat.

"No." Dawn answered firmly. "We better be going now."

"Let me walk you guys home." Mike offered.

"Ok." Cordelia whispered. Somehow she felt safe with a big man following her. Or rather, protecting her. They finally reached the house.

"Thanks for everything." Dawn said, almost shutting the door on him.

"I'll see you around." Cordelia called as Dawn slammed the door.

"There's something weird about him." Dawn, Connor, and Oz said in unison.

"No there's not. He's a perfect gentleman." Cordelia disagreed as she took the dogs off their leashes. The dogs went running around the house, as if it were all new to them.

"If all of us felt it then it probably means—" Dawn started.

"That you're paranoid because there's a rapist. Well if he were the rapist, would he be parading around warning people about himself? I think not." Cordelia said proudly.

"Either way, I don't trust him." Connor said, finally letting go of Dawn.

"You're home!" Buffy exclaimed as she hopped down the stairs to greet them.

"Yes! Now we can go out to the pool!" Willow exclaimed.

"Why couldn't we before?" Dawn asked, looking between the two girls.

"I dunno. Aunt Jenny said so." Willow answered, shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh…ok. Well, lets get changed and head on out there!" Cordelia said enthusiastically.

Everyone went and changed into their bathing suits and met in the kitchen. They grabbed some sodas, some snacks, and of course their cameras, and headed out. Almost as soon as they went out there it started raining again.

"Darn." Oz commented. He and Willow were in the hot tub, deciding that the pool was too cold. Cordelia was wrapped up in a blanket sitting on a lawn chair. Dawn and Connor were sitting in the shallow end throwing a Frisbee back and forth, trying to make the other get out of the pool to get it. Xander was doing flips and different jumps into the pool and Buffy was watching, taking pictures, and clapping. Angel was making burgers on the grill. Jenny was up on the second story deck, reading her magazine. "Angel, tell me when the burgers are ready, ok honey?" she asked. "Sure." he called back. He flipped them. Dawn got out of the pool and dried off, curling up in the blanket with Cordy. Xander got out and picked Buffy up, throwing her into the pool. Everyone was snapping pictures and Jenny took a picture of all of them loaded into the hot tub. Soon the burgers were done and Angel told Jenny.

"Ok, so bring them in, we'll all eat, and then I want you all to stay inside while I run to the grocery store…we're almost out of drinks and we need more food." Jenny announced.

Everyone groaned as they went back inside, and all changed into dry clothes. They all ate their food and Jenny left. They turned the TV on and turned the volume down the whole way so that they could play a game of trivial pursuit. Even though they weren't actually going to be playing. It was just fun to read the cards, build houses with them, and laugh at the stupid ones. The set it up at the coffee table and drank the last of the soda in their plastic cups. Suddenly the phone rang.

"I'll get it." Connor said, hopping up. He raced over and answered.

"It's for you, Cordy." She took the phone from him and pressed speaker as she shushed everyone.

"The time is coming…I know where you live…you will have a visitor tonight." the gravely voice said on the other line. Everyone looked at one another, their faces turning white.

"Why are you doing this?" Cordelia asked as she stood up to lock the door.

"Move one more inch and Dawn dies." he warned. She sat back down. Connor, who was still in the kitchen, crept down the stairs and locked the door. Cordelia, terrified, looked out the sliding glass door to the back yard. A shadowed figured stood there, phone up to his ear.

"Oh my god. Leave us alone!" Cordelia pleaded, feeling tears fill her eyes.

"Midnight, Cordelia…midnight." he warned.

"Oh god." she whimpered as the phone line went dead.

"How the hell did he know your names?" Angel demanded.

"A couple days ago…we met him at Rite-Aid." Dawn started.

"Why the hell didn't you tell us, Dawn?" Buffy snapped.

"I'm calling the police." Oz said.

"The lady at the café said he was harmless…just a little messed up." Cordelia defended.

"Yes…I'd like to report a phone call. Yes. Yes. He threatened us. Ok. Alright. I will. Thank you." Oz said into the phone and hung up.

"Turn on CNN." Xander flipped the channel to the news station.

"We're reporting a lockdown. If you are in your cars, go to the nearest store. Stay in your homes and make sure everything is locked. We have had a sign of the killer in the middle of town. We're reporting a lockdown. If you are in your cars, go to the nearest store. Stay in your homes and make sure everything is locked. We have had a sign of the killer in the middle of town. We're reporting a lockdown." Xander flipped off the television.

"Ok. Let's not panic." Willow said, nervousness creeping into her voice. She felt tears stinging in her eyes. She was scared to death. This wasn't some scary movie like ghosts or monsters. This was real life. And these were real killers. She started hyperventilating, breathing rapidly. Oz rushed over to her, wrapping his arms around her, calming her down.

"Ok. Girls I want you to grab any food and drinks we have, then grab all the sleeping bags, and clothes to change into and the phone, and go straight to Angel's and Connor's room. Guys, go through the house, lock all the windows and doors, bring the video games up, get clothes, and all of the dogs." Xander commanded.

Everyone set out on their duties. The reason they chose Angel and Connor's room was because it was the biggest, had only one window, and had a bathroom attached to it. Dawn and Cordelia went into their room, grabbing everything they needed, including some pjs, a change of clothes for tomorrow, a little makeup, and hair brushes. Buffy and Willow did the same, everyone locking any windows that they passed and pulling the shades shut. After the left all that in Angel and Connor's room, they went back for blankets and pillows, leaving on all the lights as they went. They grabbed a few flashlights and extra batteries just in case. Then they made their third trip down to the kitchen to grab some food and drinks. Angel and Connor handled the downstairs, turning on lights, grabbing video games, locking doors and windows. Bringing Beans and Snoopy with them. Xander and Oz got their clothes, blankets, and pillows, bring Turtle and Fuzzball with them. They locked their windows and left all the lights on. The storm that had started in the light of day had only worsened. The house shook with the thunder. Everyone crowded in Angel and Connor's room, locking the door behind them. They left the bathroom door open with a light on. Everyone got their little beds set up and the phone rang again. No one wanted to answer, but Buffy finally got the courage.

"Hello?" she asked with a quavering voice.

"Buffy." British accent. It was Spike.

"Gosh…can't you ever just start out with a simple hello?" she sighed, relieved.

"Sorry. I was just calling to make sure you were alright." he said, with a bit of a laugh.

"Yeah…we're fine. Thanks for calling though." Buffy said.

"Well, I have to go now. I'm at the CVS with a bunch of buds at this lock in and the clerk is giving me the evil eye." Spike said laughing.

"Ok. I'll see ya." Buffy said, also laughing, but with more of a strain, and they hung up.

"Who was that?" Angel asked warily.

"Spike." she said with a hint of menace in her voice. And all the while, Xander had the nerve to be taking pictures.

"Now is soo not the time for that." Dawn said, cuddling up between Connor and Cordelia.

"Yeah but its fun!" Xander protested, snapping a picture.

"Hey I know what'll calm our nerves!"

"What?" Angel asked wearily.

"A nice game of strip poker." he grinned lopsidedly.

"We might as well humor him." Connor sighed.

Everyone agreed and began playing. Dawn was the first to lose something. She took off her socks. She was the only one wearing socks. Angel was next. He took off his shirt, revealing his abs. Buffy could barely keep her eyes off of him. He was gorgeous and he knew it. And he was taunting Buffy right now. She scooted a little closer to him. Then it was Cordelia. She took off her shirt as well. Then it was Xander. He took off his shirt. He also had abs, they just weren't as defined as Angel's. Then it was Dawn again. She removed her shirt. Then it was Buffy. She had no choice but to take off her shirt. So then of course Xander took a picture of himself and her.Then it was Connor. The game was cut short when the phone rang again. Immediately everyone tensed up, putting their clothing back on. Angel answered.

"Jenny. Oh thank god. You're ok. Good. Alright. Ok. Yeah. We're safe. Ok. Yeah. Yep. Alrighty. You too. Buh-bye." he said, then announced, "Jenny's ok."

There were sighs of relief and everyone relaxing a while.

"So Xander…got any more ideas?" Oz asked softly.

"Nope…not really." Xander said shaking his head. He was flopped out on Connor's bed, spread out wide so that he didn't have to share.

"Damn!" Cordelia sighed.

"What is it?" Buffy asked, a little concerned.

"Tonight was supposed to be our girls night." Cordelia sighed.

"We could still have it." Dawn suggested.

"With guys in the room? I don't think so." Willow said, shaking her head.

"We could just hang out in Willow and Buffy's room for a while." Oz suggested thoughfully.

"Yeah, we're tough men, we can take care of ourselves." Xander said flexing his muscles.

"Really? You mean it? We'd only be like half an hour." Cordelia said.

The guys exchanged glances then agreed. Willow and Buffy's room was just right across the hall, they should be fine. The girls ushered them out.

"Wow…its girls night." Willow said.

"Yeah so…lets spill our secrets…Buffy first." Cordelia said brightly. Dawn immediately felt a sinking feeling. She still didn't want to tell about her and Connor.

"Well…Spike took me to the fantastic restaurant. And then we went in this cove. And it was so romantic and—" Buffy began.

"Did you kiss?" Dawn cut in.

"We almost did, but Angel and Xander kinda butted in." Buffy said shyly.

"What about you Cordelia?" Willow asked.

"Well…I kinda like Xander, but he likes Buffy. But I also like this guy Mike. I mean, we've only talked twice, but he seems really nice." Cordelia sighed.

"And old." Dawn muttered. No one caught it.

"Then why have you been flirting with Angel so much?" Buffy challenged, looking her straight in the eye.

"I haven't! He isn't my type!" Cordelia lied with a broad smile.

"Yeah you have." Willow, Buffy, and Dawn said in unison.

"Well sorry! It's just in my nature!" Cordelia defended. The girls laughed.

"So what about you and Oz?" Dawn said to Willow. "Well, he's so sweet and cuddly like a teddy bear, and—" "Did you do anything?" Cordelia asked, wide eyed. "No…we didn't even kiss yet…well we did, but only on the cheek…and he only kissed me." Willow explained.

"I'm gonna go check on the guys…I'll be right back." Dawn said and left the room before they could ask her any questions. Connor was out in the hall waiting for her already. He grasped her hips and kissed her hard on the lips.

"My god you kept me waiting." he whispered fiercely in her ear.

"I'm sorry baby." she whispered back and kissed him again. She let her tongue slip into his mouth and he did the same to her. He ran his hands up and down her body, over her clothing, wishing to himself that it were off. She broke the kiss and gasped for breath.

"We're dead if anyone walks out." she whispered.

"They won't." Connor answered, pulling her into another kiss. She didn't object, she deepened the kiss, welcoming his tongue into her mouth. She ran her hands through his hair and down his back. He slowly slid his hands under the edge of her shirt. She suddenly pulled away.

"We've been out here too long." she whispered and caught her breath. She was definitely feeling different…and a good different. Connor nodded and they both went back to their rooms.

"So what about you and Connor?" Buffy asked as Dawn walked in. All the girls had changed into the pajamas while she was gone. 'Oh crap…gig's up…should I start apologizing?...no wait…I'll play it cool.' she said to herself.

"What about what about me and Connor?" Dawn asked as she changed into her pajamas.

"Aren't you two…" Willow didn't finish the sentence.

"Nah." Dawn shrugged and plopped down between Cordelia and her sister. Suddenly there was a slam against the window and the whole house shuddered. It was totally silent. Thunder rumbled loudly, startling the girls. They immediately up and ran to get the guys who were already coming in. Everyone stayed in Angel and Connor's room. And of course Xander continued to snap pictures. Connor stood up and turned on his battery powered radio on low so that they could hear when the lock down was off. The clock read 11:57. "It's almost midnight." he stated. Cordelia shuddered and Dawn whispered comforting words. "Ok, I have a game to keep our mind off of things." Xander said after a couple minutes.

"What is it?" Angel groaned. Just then the lights flickered on and off repeatedly. And there was a banging on all the doors and windows. Connor looked at the clock. 12:00. Everyone in the room was either crying, biting their lip to keep from screaming, counting down the seconds until twelve-o-one, or all of the above. The phone began to ring. The dogs began whimpering and curled up in front of Dawn and Cordelia between the two beds. The entire house shuddered. And then the clock changed. 12:01. Everything stopped.

"My plan is gone." Xander said quietly.

"Let's tell scary stories." Willow said in a dangerous voice. She and Oz went down and completed the circle between the beds.

"No no thank you!" Xander said frantically.

"God no." everyone disagreed with Willow's plan.

"Come on guys…it'll be fun!" Willow pleaded. One by one the group gave in. One by one they told their stories. Then it came to Willow.

"Once there was this girl. She had a nice little dog that always licked her feet. One day she was at home alone and was reading her magazine. She heard there was a killer on the loose. So she stayed in her room. She felt her dog licking her feet and smiled to know she wasn't alone. She then heard a dripping noise coming from the bathroom. She walked in, glanced around, not bothering to turn the lights on, and the dripping stopped. She shrugged and went back to her room. Her dog licked her feet again. The dripping sound started up once more. She got fed up and went back flipping on the light. There was her dog, its blood dripping down. And it was the killer that had been licking her feet." Willow told her tale ominously…so much so that it even seemed to have the dogs attention.

"God…and I had to pee." Xander said.

Everyone looked at the clock again. It read 1:36. They had a lot longer to go before daybreak. Looking around the circle, everyone seemed content. Buffy was snuggled in Angel's lap, stroking his arm. Connor was next to Dawn, massaging her back while she and Cordelia sat strung around each other. Xander was grasping Fuzzball in his lap. Oz and Willow were leaning on each other, holding hands.

"That sucks for you." Willow said, squinting. Suddenly the power went back on.

"YES!" Xander rejoiced, running to the lit up bathroom, leaving the door wide open. Connor plugged in the playstation 2 and popped in their new game. 'The Bouncer' It was basically just another one of those fighting games. He and Oz were first up…the two champions.

"I'm sorry for being a bitch about Spike." Buffy said to Angel, laying her head on his chest.

"And I'm sorry for being a jerk about him." Angel said, mentally thanking god that they were no longer fighting. Buffy fell asleep moments later and Angel layed her down, kissing her on the forehead. The rest of the night and on until daybreak they played video games. Then the news arrived. At exactly six fourty one AM, the lockdown was over and everyone could return home. By then all the girls except Willow were asleep. Everyone layed down on their blankets and both Jenny and Giles arrived home, and everyone went to sleep.


	11. Chapter 10 Feeling Safe

Chapter 10- Feeling Safe

A/N: This chapter was written by Ozlover.

The slowly sinking moon was the only source of light for a man plodding through a dark, dank part of Carolina Beach. The man was hauling a very large, black garbage bag. He crept in the shadown of buildings, not wanting to be seen. That could cost him everything. He snuck down to an area on the beach where he knew a barge left every morning at three AM. to dump garbage in a dump on the other side of the beach.

This was the way it happened every time: He would sneak through the city undetected, head down to where the garbage was loaded on the barge, dump the body and go back to his 'hide-out' before the sun rose.

He hoisted up the garbage bag and dumped it into he dumpster. They seemed to be getting heavier and heavier, Joe thought...He stood still after the body was in place. The sun shouldn't be rising. Why was the sky getting lighter? And with red and blue? That wasn't right...When he finally realized what was going on, it was too late.

"Freeze! Arms in the air! You're under arrest!"

"Damn." Joe whispered under his breath.

Back at the House

The morning sun was shining brightly into Willow and Buffy's bedroom window.(They figured it was alright to draw back the curtains after everything happened at midnight) Buffy groaned and pulled the covers over her head when the sun shone into her eyes.

Willow heard her and turned in bed to glance at the clock on the nightstand. It was almost eleven! Willow debated whether to stay in bed and sleep more or go downstairs and see who else was awake. She decided to get up. She'd never been in bed this late and she knew she would get bored just laying in bed. She crept out of the room quietly, just incase Buffy was still asleep. She knew how her best friend could get if she was deprived of sleep.

When she got down the stairs she looked to see if Oz was awake. He wasn't. He was sleeping soundly, half hanging off the couch and tangled up in the blanket. She smiled and continued on into the kitchen to fix herself some breakfast. Apparently Jenny had bought more cereal last night, so she poured herself a bowl.

"Lucky Charms?"

Willow looked up and saw Oz standing in the doorway.

"Yeah, something about the little leprechaun always does it for me. Want some?" Willow asked, smiling.

"No thanks. I'm not really hungry." Oz anwered. "It probably has something to do with last night. I couldn't really sleep."

"Well, from where I was standing five minutes ago, it sure looked like you were sleeping." Willow said with a sly smile.

Oz just smiled and laughed softly.

"Good morning!" Buffy chirped as she entered the kitchen. Oz and Willow exchanged confused glances.

"Uh, why so enthusiastic, Buff?" Willow asked.

Buffy just motioned around herself, smiling. There was nothing there

"Uh, I don't get it." Willow said.

"Beans and Snoopy are locked in Angel and Connor's room." Buffy replied. "Finally...peace."

Willow and Buffy giggled. The three teens went into the living room to watch TV. They found that Dawn and Cordelia had beaten them to the TV.

"They caught him, they caught him!" Dawn said from her place on the couch.

"Who? The rapist?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, Joe." Cordelia replied.

"They found him?" Connor asked as he came down the stairs, immediately followed by Xander and Angel. Beans and Snoopy bounded down the stairs, as well. They hopped up on Buffy's lap; she was too relieved by the news to care- along with everyone else.

"Yeah." Willow answered, eyes glued to the television. A picture of Joe came up on the screen.

"Eww, you met him?" Buffy asked Cordelia and Dawn. They both nodded in disgust. Apparently Joe had won himself a life sentence for raping, killing and dumping bodies of girls in the garbage for three years.

"He's been doing this for three years?" Cordelia asked incredulously. "That lady at the coffee shop told us he was harmless!"

"Maybe she didn't know?" Dawn suggested, but she knew the chances of that were slim. As if on cue, another picture filled up the screen.

"This woman, the sister of Joseph(Joe) Sanchez , was also taken into custody today. She, Maria Sanchez, confessed earlier today that she knew about what her brother was doing, but made no action against it because she 'couldn't bear to send her own brother to prison.' Now she'll be paying for it for five years in the local prison."

"That's the lady from the coffee shop!" Cordelia pointed at the screen.

"Well, that explains that." Dawn replied.

"Hey, I just realized something." Willow said. Seven faces turned toward her, waiting for her to speak again. "This is the last day Xander and I are grounded."

"Oh, yeah! I guess we were having too much fun being grounded to to count down the days." Xander said, only half joking. They did actually have a blast over the last few days. But it would be kinda nice to get out of the house and do something together.

"Let's do something tomorrow, then." Angel said. Of course, everyone agreed.

"We could...go down to the beach." Dawn suggested.

"Nah, Will and I are getting off groundation. It's a cause for celebration." Xander replied.

The girls started giggling. Hearing Xander rhyme was funny to them.

"What?" Xander asked.

"Nothing." Buffy said, still smiling.

"How about...the docks?" Willow asked.

"Yeah!" Xander said, resisiting the urge to pump his fist in the air. "We haven't been there yet."

"We can go fishing." Dawn said.

"Ooh, ooh!" Xander piped up again. "Maybe my dad will tak us out on his boat!"

"You have a boat? Since when?" Willow asked Xander.

"Since last year." Xander answered. "But Dad doesn't let me drive it. He's afraid I'm gonna sink it or something."

"I wouldn't put it past you." Willow joked.

"If you're referring to that time when I was five and I just learned how to tie my shoes, and I untied half the ropes on the dock and set people's ships floating in the ocean...well...you're mean." Xander said defensively.

"What? That never even crossed my mind..." Willow was grinning, as well as everyone else.

"We should probably leave the house early, right?" Oz asked.

"Yeah, that way it's less crowded. I know the best spot for catching fish, but we'd have to leave the house around six-thirty." Xander said. There were a few groans of protest, but no one strongly disagreed.

"Can I invite Spike?" Buffy asked suddenly. Angel felt a pang of jealousy. Even though she was going out with Spike, a little part inside of him still believed that she liked him. But that little part was slowly shrinking away.

"Sure, you can bring whoever you want." Xander answered. Buffy smiled a little bit.

"So, what should we do on our last day of being grounded?" Willow asked.

"Hmm..." Xander thought for a moment. " I have an idea..." Xander whipped out a disposable camera from behind his back and started running around snapping more pictures. He literally chased the girls upstairs.

"Come back my pretties!" He cackled in a high-pitched witch voice.

"Not fair! We weren't even ready!" Dawn squealed. She was laughing hard.

"Ah, but that's the beauty of it." Xander said as he continued his camera crazy rampage.

Giles, who was just waking up, shook her head as the teens shot past her in the hallway.

"Teenagers." He muttered as he made his way downstairs to make some tea and maybe have a scone if his tight schedule allowed it. Jenny had agreed to watch the kids a second day in a row only because she wanted to stay in and nap. After last night, she really needed it. And that was where she was: In her room sleeping.

It was a beautiful day; there were no clouds in the sky. A perfect day for swimming, everyone concluded.

"We really need new bathingsuits." Buffy observed as the four girls were in her and Willow's room changing.

"Yeah, all this swimming and going to the beach is wearing them out." Dawn replied.

"Plus everytime we go to put them on, they're wet from the last time we used them." Willow pointed out.

"We should go bathingsuit shopping one day." Cordelia suggested.

The girls agreed and they headed out to the pool. The guys were already in, splashing around and making a mess...well, that was mostly Xander. he managed to get Fuzzball into the water with them.

"C'mon, Fuzzy! Swim this way." Xander called. It was adorable watching Fuzzball do the doggy-paddle over to Xander. Willow took Xander's camera and took a picture of the guys and Fuzzball. Beans and Snoopy came in soon after. Turtle waddled up to the pool and slid in, surprising everyone. At first, Xander and Angel rushed over to him, afraid he would sink. But he could swim quite well actually.

Everyone swam until lunch-time. They ate outside in the sun, drip-drying. Xander brought out left-over Chinese and after the teens were done there was still a large amount left. Jenny had really over-ordered.

Willow stared at the beautiful, clear ocean longingly. "I was I wasn't grounded. I want to be out there so badly." She said, with her head in her hand. Oz reached over and grabbed her other hand.

"One more day." He said reassuringly. Willow nodded softly and smiled slightly.

Eventually everyone went back inside, changed into dry clothes and went downstairs to play video games. They chose one of the new games, "Ledgends of Wrestling II", to play.

It was Xander against Willow. They had both created their own characters - Willow made a girl, Xander made a guy. They were now fighting in the ring.

"Hey! Where'd you get that chair from? No, don't hit me with it!" Xander protested. Willow just laughed and continued to beat the crap out of her cousin.

"I got beat by a hooker! Is that legal?" Xander asked. By now, everyone in the room was laughing. "No, seriously, how did you beat me?" He asked.

"I have this game at home." Willow answered with a smile.

"Ok, that is definitely illegal." Xander concluded.

Willow went on to beat everyone in the room.

"Ok, what now?" Cordelia asked.

"TV." Xander said as he got up from his bean-bad chair infront of the PS2. Everyone followed him and hung out around the television. Family guy was on.

"Ah, I love this show." Xander said. Everyone agreed and they watched two episodes in a row before it switched over to King of the Hill.

When dinner time rolled around, Jenny was finally awake, so she made dinner. She made three different types of pasta and garlic bread. Everyone was happy to have something other than Chinese. Beans and Snoopy were happy as well; they too were tired of eating scraps of Chinese from people's plates.

A half- hour after dinner(Jenny made them wait) everyone went back in the pool and swam until it got dark. All of them gazed up at the dark night sky in wonder of the brilliantly shining stars amidst the blackness.

"I wonder how many stars there are in the sky." Buffy said softly. She and Angel were laying on a lawn chair together(not touching of course). Willow and Oz were cuddled up together on another chair, Dawn and Cordelia were wrapped up in a towel together, which left Xander and Connor to lay on the edge of the pool deck and dangle their legs in the water.

"Who knows? They're constantly burning out and new ones are forming." Angel answered.

"But I wish I could know...for sure." Buffy said, trying not to get off-subject.

"You can never know for sure." Angel replied, knowing what she was saying. "What you think...it could be wrong."

Buffy didn't answer. She just looked up at the stars and made a wish on the brightest star she could find that she was making the right decision. But deep inside she knew she was...It was Spike.

The teens went to bed early, so they could wake up early and enjoy their freedom.

000000000000000

A/N: B/A shippers...Please calm down...Don't hurt us! Yeep...just...calm...down...lol


	12. Chapter 11 Do You Even Like Me?

Chapter Eleven- Do You Even Like Me?

A/N:This chapter was written by Willowzlilsecret.

Everyone was up around eleven, not getting a good or bad night's sleep. Finally Giles and Jenny could both go about their business and not have to watch to make sure Willow and Xander didn't leave. The parents left as soon as they could, going on to either the library or to the store. The gang was still adjusting to the idea of complete freedom, so that sat in the family room while the morning news played in the background. They were still deciding what they should do since they were free. Free of creepy rapists. Free of creepy parents. Free of creepy phone calls. And so on and so forth.

"All the excitement is gone." Xander said as he stuck some left over Chinese in his mouth. That was their lunch. It had also been their breakfast. They still had a surplus of Chinese take out from four nights ago. This was the last of it.

"Oh yeah, now that we're not being hunted down by some serial killer, our lives are boring?" Cordelia asked bluntly.

"We had lives before the bad guy came." Willow said with a small smile. She was nestled in Oz's arms and happy to be there. Everything was ok. They had been through enough drama to last them through the summer…and it was still only June!

"Yeah…it seems like its been weeks when in reality it's only been days." Oz agreed, then kissed Willow on the forehead.

"I'm gonna go change." Dawn said suddenly. Everyone glanced at her and then went back to planning their day.

"Well, why don't we hit the beach? We haven't done that in…well…5 days." Angel suggested.

"Yeah…but we can't do that all day." Buffy said. She was sitting between Cordelia and the empty space that Dawn left. Angel, Xander, and Connor were all on the other couch, and Willow and Oz were snuggled in a big chair.

"True, true." Angel agreed. The gang all looked at each other for a couple minutes.

"Let's go down to the docks! Ya know how we had that idea yesterday? Well maybe we should go through with it…but no Spike…you're the only one who knows him, Buffy." Willow exclaimed finally.

"I mean, I know we're going in a couple of weeks to stay the night, but it would be cool, ya know just get to know our way around. We just have to be home by one."

"Oh no fishing tonight please!" Buffy begged. Everyone agreed, deciding it could wait until they stayed there for that night.

"Well that wastes two hours driving there and back. How long would we stay?" Xander asked.

"Uh, I'd say around four hours." Willow answered glancing around the room. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"So we're there from eight until midnight?" Connor asked.

"Yup." Xander replied.

"And we'd leave at seven?" Angel confirmed.

"Yes sir." Oz said with a small smile.

"Yay! We have plans." Cordelia said clapping her hands. Suddenly the phone rang. Now since the whole rapist thing, the gang had taken a vengeance against the phone. Cordelia finally picked it up.

"Hello?" Cordy asked into the receiver.

"Oh, sure, hold on a minute. Buffy phone." she tossed the phone to Buffy, who caught it in the air. Connor excused himself to the bathroom and Cordelia came and sat back down.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Buffy."

It was Spike. Of course it was Spike.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked.

"I wanted to know if you were busy today." Spike said.

"Uhm, well not until seven." Buffy answered.

Connor had met Dawn in the hall, close to the bathroom door.

"Hey." he whispered.

"Hi." she said back and they immediately started kissing, wasting no time at all. Dawn snaked her tongue into his mouth. Connor greeted it and slowly pushed her shirt up. They backed against the wall, but didn't hit too hard for fear of being caught. He decided he was glad they were keeping it a secret. It seemed to make it sexier. More erotic. He finally took his lips off hers and moved to her neck. She was breathing heavily and felt him start grinding against her. She accepted this and started moving her hips in time with his. She felt his hands creep up into her shirt. She suddenly swung around so that Connor was against the wall. He lifted her up so that she was a little taller then him and he could get at her neck and chest more easily. She used the wall to steady herself as she began feeling dizzy. She was having trouble breathing and she was getting this strange sensation between her legs. It was new. And in some ways she liked it…

"I'll pick you up at two." he said.

"Ok." Buffy replied and the phone line went dead. She looked at the clock. 1:30.

"Shit!" she yelled, jumping up. She had to be ready in half an hour.

"What?" Angel asked.

"Spike's picking me up in half an hour!." Buffy exclaimed. She began running up the stairs. Luckily Dawn heard and pushed off of Connor as he crept into the bathroom. Dawn fixed her shirt and hair and began down the steps when Buffy almost ran her over.

"Watch what you're doing!" she exclaimed, annoyed. She went down to join the rest of the group downstairs.

"So what's the game plan?" she asked as she plopped down next to Cordelia.

"Take off your clothes." Xander said.

"Excuse me?" Dawn asked.

"You have to change into your bathing suit." Xander corrected himself. Everyone headed upstairs to change. Buffy got ready and arrived at the door just as the bell rang. She opened it and Spike stood outside, wearing his normal black shirt and blue jeans. She wore a bright little yellow sun dress. He smiled.

"Buffy." he greeted. She smiled back and jumped up to him, hugging him tightly.

"Spike." she replied. He smiled and pulled the door shut.

"Where are we going today?" she asked, holding Spike's hand.

"I thought we could just go out on the beach, or maybe back to that cove." he said.

"Oh lets go to the cove!" Buffy said smiling. She hadn't seen it in daylight yet. Spike agreed and they hopped on his motorcycle and sped off down the road. They finally arrived at the cove. Spike quickly pulled Buffy in and the fell onto the ground together laughing. "Ya know what?" Buffy asked as she rolled on her side, looking at Spike. "What?" he asked, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

"I think I love you." she said. He turned his head towards her.

"And I know I love you." he replied. He pulled her closer and they looked into each other's eyes. Slowly, cautiously, Buffy leaned in. Spike felt Buffy's soft lips brush against his own. Then again. This time he kissed her back. She opened her mouth a little, letting his tongue slide in. She nipped his full lower lip playfully and he grabbed her by the waist. She giggled as she held his face in her hands, kissing him, pulling away, and kissing him again. He rolled over on top of her and they began kissing again. Buffy couldn't stop giggling. She was giddy and excited. Spike finally stopped trying to be serious.

"What's so funny?" he asked. She shrugged and messed up his hair. He sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She giggled again and he felt her shaking underneath him.

"Stop laughing!" he commanded with mock annoyance. She closed her mouth immediately.

"You're my little Goldilocks." he said, stroking her hair.

"No. I don't like that name." Buffy said pouting.

"Look at that lip." he joked. "Gotta get some." He leaned in and kissed her lower lip, sucking it and nipping it. She burst into another set of giggles. He sighed and gave up. He got off of her and sat next to the water. Buffy pulled herself up as well and scrambled over to him, plopping down in his lap. She took off her sandals and threw them off to the side, putting her feet in the water. Spike slid his arms around her and rested them on her stomach. She leaned back and rested her head on his shoulder, just looking into his perfect sapphire eyes. He looked back into her jade eyes and they kept eye contact, never looking away. Buffy sighed finally looking away.

"What time is it?" she asked offhand.

"Uh…seven thirty." he answered, checking his watch.

"Crap." she muttered standing up. She checked her cell. Two missed calls. Both from the house. She listened to the messages.

"Buffy. It's Willow. We're getting ready to leave and you aren't here. Call me." Willow's voice said. Then the second one: "Buffy, you're fifteen minutes late…we're leaving. I'm sorry. Call me." The message ended. Buffy immediately dialed Willow's cell, and her best friend answered.

"I'm sorry Willow. I'm gonna get there maybe 15 minutes after you." Buffy said and hung up.

"Spike…do you think you could get me to the docks by eight?"

"Yeah, maybe a little later. Why?" Spike asked.

"Remember how I'm busy starting at seven?" she asked.

"Oh…well you're already late!" he said. "Let's go."

He grasped her hand and the two ran out to the motorcycle. Buffy barely had enough time to put on her helmet before he zoomed off. Amazingly Buffy arrived around the same time as her friends. She kissed Spike on the lips before he zoomed off. Angel didn't see. Buffy was very happy. She joined up with her friends and they began deciding what to do.

"Well, let's check out where the restaurants are, maybe order something small so we can find the good spots." Xander suggested.

"Of course his idea would involve food." Connor joked. So they walked around the brightly lit docks testing out different restaurants, trying not to spend too much money.

"Gawd, I think we've been to just about every restaurant in North Carolina!" Cordelia exclaimed as she plopped down on a bench. Dawn went to a nearby restroom followed by Connor…it was a unisex bathroom. They closed themselves in one stall in case any of the gang decided to come in. Connor kissed her needily, slamming her into the wall. She gasped at his strength and at how hard the wall was. She kissed him back letting his tongue enter her mouth. She felt one of his hands snaking up into her skirt. She was so lost in him; she didn't have the strength to make him stop. And plus…she sorta liked it. Suddenly Cordelia came banging into the bathroom. As soon as the door shut she said, "Ok, lovebirds. We're all splitting up into groups. Since you two are in here you guys are gonna be a group. And you guys actually have to go somewhere because Willow had the brilliant idea of 'group discussion' afterwards." They heard Cordelia leave and stood in silence for a couple minutes.

"Ok, so, we have our groups picked out?" Willow asked. She was holding hands with Oz, her partner. Buffy and Angel were together so that left Cordelia and Xander. Well, at least they'd get a chance to talk. They hadn't been doing much of that.

"Yep." Everyone answered. And they were off. Going their separate ways. Cordelia and Xander just stood there a minute.

"So…" Xander said, kicking a rock.

"Xander, do you like me?" Cordelia asked; very straightforward.

"Yeah sorta." he answered, totally focused on the rock he was kicking. He didn't want to look at Cordelia, even though she was inches away from him.

"I like you. And I don't know…everyone is getting boyfriends. And I kinda want you to be my boyfriend." Cordelia said, rather shy for Cordelia.

"I like you too but I'm not sure if I want you to be my girlfriend yet. I'll…tell you later." he said and began walking. Cordelia sighed and was about to run and catch up when someone grabbed her shoulder. She spun around, fearing the worst. It was Mike.

"Hey Mike!" she said enthusiastically.

"Is that your boyfriend?" he asked, pointing to Xander.

"Nah, he's just a friend. Actually he's my friend's cousin." Cordelia said, putting on her best smile. Xander stopped and waited for Cordelia, wondering what was taking her so long…and if he had hurt her feelings. She seemed like the type to bounce back from rejection, but you never know.

"Oh…so what brings you all into the docks?" Mike asked.

"Just wandering, we're going to be staying here a night in a week or two." Cordelia said.

"I could show you a good place to dance." Mike suggested.

"Sounds good. Come on Xander, Mike is gonna show us a place to dance!" Cordelia said as she linked arms with the man. Xander sighed as he realized he had lost his chance. He had said no to Cordelia and she had already moved onto the next guy. He shrugged and trailed behind them.

Angel and Buffy walked along a pier that jutted a mile out into the ocean. The sun had just set and the ocean was a beautiful blue-green color. They two hadn't talked much the whole time…just spent their time thinking. 'Why do I feel the same around both Angel and Spike and not feel like I'm cheating on the other?' she wondered. Suddenly she felt Angel slip an arm around her waist. She glanced up at him. They continued to walk in silence. Every now and then they stole glances at each other, but didn't speak.

Connor and Dawn finally emerged from the bathroom, deciding on a small ice cream shop. It was called 'Lindy's Ice-Cream' and it was old fashioned. Inside there was a mural of a little bar and a girl and boy sharing their milkshake. There was black and while tile and pinks walls. Even the lights were old fashioned. This made Dawn smile. For some odd reason, all the Summers girls were addicted to old fashioned restaurants. Why? No one knew.

"Oh! What should we get?" Dawn asked her fingers laced through Connor's.

"I want a scoop of bear tracks." Connor said to the lady behind the counter.

"Is that all?" she asked. Connor shook his head no and the lady began scooping out the ice-cream.

"I want that Cake thing." Dawn said pointing to the white ice-cream with sprinkles through it. The lady nodded, handed Connor his ice cream and began scooping Dawn's. They paid and went to eat their ice cream outside on a bench.

Willow and Oz walked along the beach, holding their sandals and letting their feet get wet. Oz kept his arm around Willow's waist and she did the same for him. Oz suddenly stopped and stood in front of Willow. She smiled.

"What are you doing?" she asked gently.

"Kissing you." he said and cupped her chin with one hand.

"Oh…proceed." she smiled. He leaned in and they kissed. Willow never wanted the moment to end.

Cordelia was dancing with Mike as Xander watched from a table, sipping a coke. The song turned to a slow one and the two returned to the table.

"I need to use the restroom, I'll be right back." Mike said. Cordelia flashed him a smile as he left.

"Cordelia." Xander said and grasped her hands in his.

"What I really meant to say was…I like you…a lot…and I wanna go out with you. I want to be your boyfriend." A small smile crept onto Cordelia's lips.

"Well…I guess that could be arranged." she smiled. He also smiled, and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Dance with me?" he asked. She nodded and led him onto the dance floor. As they danced a slow song played.

I have a smile stretched from ear to ear to see you walking down the road

Cordelia wasn't sure if she should look at him. She was still so happy that she finally had a boyfriend as well. It just felt so right. She was so happy in Xander's arms.

we meet at the lights I stare for a while the world around us disappears

She finally looked at Xander just to see him staring back at her. They had eye contact and looked at each other long enough for it to be considering staring.

it's just you and me on this island of hope a breath between us could be miles

Xander held her tightly and protectively. Glad not to be the last to have a girlfriend. Glad that Cordelia didn't like some middle aged man that had been following them around. Oh so casually bumping into them wherever they went.

let me surround you my sea to your shore let me be the calm you seek

Cordelia felt herself smiling and wanted to say something cute. But nothing would come out. She and Xander danced in silence, lost in each other's eyes.

oh and every time I'm close to you there's too much I can't say

and you just walk away

Xander loved looking into her eyes. Loved holding her. And realization hit him. He loved her. And he wanted so badly to say it. But for some reason he couldn't make his lips move. But he knew that she understood.

and I forgot to tell you I love you and the night's too long and cold here without you

I grieve in my condition for I cannot find the words to say I need you so

And the song finished.

The two walked back to the table where Mike was waiting. He looked a little…well…jealous.

"I have to tell everyone about this place! It's hott!" Cordelia exclaimed and pulled out her flip-phone.

Buffy felt her butt vibrating. It was a strange sensation, really, but she figured out what it was. She pulled her phone out of the hidden pocket in the back of her jacket, which was kind of awkward to reach.

"Hello? Where is it? Ok we'll be right there." Buffy said into the phone and closed it, deciding it would be better just to keep it in a normal pocket.

"Ya wanna go clubbin'?"

Willow and Oz stood on the beach, arms wrapped around eachother, just watching the waves in silence. Willow's phone broke the silence when it rang, bursting with beach melodies. She pulled it out of her purse and answered.

"Ok…we'll be there in like fifteen minutes. ok. bye." Willow said and hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Oz asked.

"Cordelia…and she wants us to meet her at the club."

Connor and Dawn had moved on to actually doing something productive. (No not what you're thinking you perverts!) They were walking hand in hand down the streets. Suddenly Dawn's phone rang. She-still being a little cautious around phones- answered with a weak:

"Hello?"

"Hey, Dawn its Cordelia! I'm at a great club. You should join." Cordelia said over the blaring music in the background.

"Where?" Dawn asked relieved that it was just her friend and not some psycho rapist.

"Ok, yeah we're out of the bathroom. Ok, I'll see ya then." She hung up the phone and she explained to Connor what was going on. Then they started towards the club.

Everyone arrived at the club within five minutes of eachother. As soon as Connor and Dawn saw Mike they both got tense. They were immediately greeted by Cordelia bouncing up and down excitedly.

"He's my boyfriend." she exclaimed. Dawn felt her insides sink and felt as if she was going to throw up. She leaned on Connor for support. Cordelia, realizing what she was thinking, cleared up the situation.

"Not Mike! Xander!" she announced. Dawn visibly recovered and smiled.

"That's great!" she glanced at Mike who was sitting at the table, watching Cordelia. His brow was furrowed and Dawn saw something…strange…not subtle strange, but noticeably weird. He kept looking Cordelia up and down and shifting as if he were agitated or anxious. Dawn squeezed Connor's hand and sat down at the table next to Mike.

"So did you hear the good news?" Dawn asked smiling.

"About Cordelia?" he asked, sounding annoyed.

"No, about the rapist. Being captured?" she asked slowly. Realization dawned on his face.

"He was?" Mike asked, suddenly paying attention to her.

"Yeah, this morning when he was dumping the body." Dawn said raising one eyebrow.

"Oh. I hafta go. I'll talk to you guys later." Mike said suddenly leaving.

"Bye?" Dawn said a little concerned as she watched the older man leave.

By midnight everyone was ready to leave so they loaded themselves into their cars driving off towards the home. As soon as they got home they went to bed, glad to be able to sleep easy.

The man stood in his basement, pacing. He growled in annoyance and turned towards his punching bags, slamming it with his fists. He makes crying sounds and falls to the ground. He lays there, his whole body shaking with his sobs. He picked his head up and said softly to no one, "I'll finish what he started. Those girls will get killed."

00000000000000

Dun, dun DUUUUUUN! Heh. NOOOOO! Please don't hit us with rotten fruit and/or mexican food! Meep. Say the word and we'll update...Just...Don't...Hit us...lol


	13. Chapter 12 False Sense of Security

Chapter 12- False Sense of Security

A/N: This chapter was written by Ozlover

It was seven AM and Willow was up hours ago partly because she was anticipating the day ahead...and partly because Buffy woke her up with her crazy sleep-rambles.

000Two hours ago000

Beans and Snoopy were in the room with them. Beans was curled up at the foot of Willow's bed and Snoopy was on Buffy's. Snoopy got freaked out by something, like usual, and he let out a loud yip.

That's what got Buffy started... "Bless you!...Angel, you don't sound too well...I think you're getting a cold...You should have some Corona, it always solves my problems...except for that time...when it didn't...when the pickles needed to be judged and you were too busy painting me a picture...of...grey cats...cuz they're the best..." She babbled for about half an hour before falling back asleep...

000Present time000

Another day of not being grounded. Willow thought. God, had she took it for granted before. She pulled on a pair of army camoflauge shorts and a beige cami that had a slight ruffle in the middle then split at the bottom so that her stomach showed. When she came downstairs she saw that Oz was awake as well, watching TV on the couch.

"Hi." Willow said softly before wrapping her arms around him and sitting in his lap.

"Hi to you too." Oz said, kissing her lips gently. A sudden voice made them both jump.

"Will, do you have hot wings? Or pickles?" Buffy asked from in the kitchen. Apparently Willow and Oz weren't the only ones awake.

"Uh...I don't know." Willow gave Oz a confused look, untangled herself from him and headed into the kitchen. "Pickles and hot wings, huh? Sounds like it's someone's time of the month..." Willow trailed off.

"That obvious, huh?" Buffy asked, her head was still hidden inside a cabinet.

"A little." Willow confessed.

"So?..." Buffy asked. "Pickles, or hot wings, pickles or hot wings?" Buffy lifted her arms up and down as if she were holding up two different things. "Ooh! I got it! Pickled hot wings!" Buffy squealed happily.

"Eww, do you know how disgusting that sounds to anyone who isn't you?" Willow asked. Buffy just shrugged and continued rummaging through various cabinets searching for some type of food that would catch her eye. Willow just shook her head and smiled.

It took her a few minutes, but Buffy managed to find a bag of hot wings in the freezer and a jar of pickles in the fridge. _At_ _least they're not grey._ She thought as she opened the jar. _Wow...That was random_. She cooked a few hot wings in the microwave and placed a few pickles onto the plate next to them.

When she emerged from the kitchen with her plate Xander was there, sitting on a couch, so she went to sit next to him.

"Hey, watcha got there, Buff? Are we sharing?" Xander asked, eying Buffy's plate hungrily. Buffy drew the plate back, becoming defensive of her pickles and wings. Xander gave his best puppy dog face and she gave in.

"Fine." She sighed, moving the plate so that both of them could reach it. Willow and Oz just sat on the other couch, watching them eat with amusement.

"Xand, are you PMS-ing or something?" Cordelia asked her boyfriend bluntly as she stood at the bottom of the stairs. She couldn't help but smile...he was just so cute.

Xander looked up after having shoved a wing and pickle in his mouth at once. "Uh, no...why?"

"Just curious." She said as she walked over to the couch he and Buffy were sittiing on. Since it was a loveseat and there was no room she sat on the arm of the chair next to Xander.

The next to come down the stairs were Connor and Angel. Apparently Angel had some 'inner turmoil' last night and had woken them both up by singing in his sleep.

"Yeah...I couldn't really sleep after that." Connor said, only half joking.

"Where's Dawn?" Connor asked as casually as he could. It had been half an hour since he and Angel came down, but his girlfriend was nowhere to be seen.

"I think she's still sleeping." Cordelia answered. "She was really tired last night."

"I'll go check on her." Connor volunteered.

"No, it's fine, I'll do it. She can be a little testy when she first wakes up." Cordelia said as she went upstairs.

Connor had really wanted to check on her...

"Dawn?" Cordelia asked as she stepped into the room. "Are you awake?" She was answered by a grunting noise. "Connor was wondering where you were."

"Huh?" Dawn sat up, hearing his name. "Oh...yeah. Ok, I'll be down in a sec."

Cordelia nodded and left the room. Dawn changed into a denim pleated mini-skirt and a white halter top that had little pink and brown flowers and gold butterflies on it. When she came downstairs everyone was making plans for the day.

"Well...we really need to go bathing suit shopping." Buffy said. She and Xander had finished off the pickles and hot wings a few minutes ago.

"Yeah." Dawn piped up. She went and sat on the floor in front of Cordelia.

"Ok...you can do that...and we can do something else." Xander said, 'we' meaning him and the other guys.

"Are you sure you don't wanna watch us try bathing suits on?" Cordelia asked slyly.

"Ok, as tempting as that sounds...Ok, that _does_ sound tempting...We're on a mission." Xander finished. The guys had no idea what he was talking about, but they played along. Xander had been bathing suit shopping before and he knew that it was all fun and games until he became the bag boy, or the guy that gets to exchange sizes, or the guy that has to sit and listen to the women cry and whine about how fat they were when they really weren't...and he was tired of being everyone's butt monkey!

"A mission? Like, for what?" Willow asked.

"Well...we're going to try to hit every video game store in the area...and...stop for movies...cuz we need entertainment." Xander said. The guys agreed.

"Ok, suit yourselves..." Cordelia said, slightly disappointed that Xander wouldn't be there to watch her try on skimpy bikinis. But she, being who she was, would never let it show.

"Maybe we should, like...meet somewhere after everyone is done shopping." Willow suggested.

"Good idea...How about that pizza place down by the beach that we passed...I can't remember the name, but it's the building is purple and blue..." Xander trailed off.

"Yeah, we know where that is. It's by that cafe Dawn and I went to...once." Cordelia almost said that they saw Joe there.

"Ok." Xander said, clapping his hands together. "It's settled."

"Wait, what time should we meet?" Oz asked.

"How about...noon.?" Dawn suggested. Everyone agreed, said their goodbyes and went to do their shopping...

000At the mall000

Cordelia pulled into the mall parking lot at eight, right when it opened. For the summer, it opened at eight in the morning and closed at ten at night. When they got into the mall, they knew exactly where they wanted to go...

000Random video game store000

"How about this?" Connor asked, holding up a previously owned game that came with a box.

"No, this is Dance, Dance Revolution." Xander said.

"So...?" Connor asked.

"Well...it involves moving around and dancing, which defeats the whole purpose of a video game." Xander replied.

"Which is?"

"Sitting on your butt being lazy and eating junk food in front of a TV." Xander said. "You can't eat junk food while your dancing."

"No, I guess not." Connor said, putting the game back on the shelf where he found it. "Well, you could, but it'd be really hard."

Xander made an 'eh' sound. He put his hand on Connor's shoulder. "I think we can do better."

000At the mall000

"Ohmygosh, that is soo cute on you! You _have_ get it!" Cordelia squealed excitedly over the bathing suit Buffy tried on. It was a brown halter bikini with little pink and white dots all over it.

"You really think so?" Buffy asked, turning around to admire herself in the full length mirror in the fitting room. The three girls nodded.

"K, I'll get it." Buffy said, smiling.

000Another random video game store000

" Is this one good?" Oz asked, holding up a video game that had two guys fighting on the cover.

"Ooh, violence.." Xander said, admiring the game. "Yeah, that's good. That's always good."

000An unknown place in the mall000

He stood, hat tipped down over his eyes, watching them. Watching the four girls. He knew what had to be done- to all of them, but not here. There was too many witnesses. He would wait until the perfect time for them...and until then, well, he had other things he could do...

000Fitting room in the mall000

"Wow, this is really nice." Willow said, looking over herself in the mirror.

"And it looks great on you, Will." Cordelia said. Willow had on a white and baby blue striped halter bikini.

"Wait! Don't change back yet, I wanna see!" Dawn said from in one of the stalls. She changed into the bathingsuit she was trying on quickly and came out of the stall.

"Whoa...I love it. You should totally get it." Dawn said.

"Yours is better."

"Mine?" Dawn had forgotten she was wearing a bathing suit. It was a crimson red butterfly halter bikini. It looked really good on her. Everyone convinced her to buy it. Now the only girl who needed one was Cordelia.

000No, not another random video game store...a random video/movie store...teehee..000.

"Great. Now what are we gonna do? We, being men, obviously want violent, possibly horror movies, but the girls will want chick-flicks." Xander sighed in exasperation.

"We could compromise." Oz suggested.

"Like a violent chick-flick? Somehow I don't see that happening anytime soon." Xander said.

"Well, we can just get a couple of both." Connor suggested.

"Good idea!"

And the guys set off to look for both genres of movies.

000Yes, you guessed it- The mall. Again.000

Oh, I really like this." Cordelia said, admiring herself in the mirror as the other girls had done. She was wearing a white halter bikini with a yellow outline. For some odd reason she was attracted to the bright, cheery shade of yellow. Plus yellow looked really good on her.

(A/N: Seriously...I was in this store...and there was a yellow bikini...and I was, like, attracted to it! It was weird...yeah, that's all for now. )

"Cordelianna!" Buffy squealed. "That looks great on you, you so have to get it."

The four girls paid for their bathing suits. It was only eleven, which meant that they still had free time before they had to meet up with the guys at the pizza place. With them being in the mall, they figured, why not shop more?

000At the video/movie store000

The guys had ended up buying _The Mummy_, _13 Going on 30_, _The Excorcist_, and _Miss Congeniality_ . By that time it was about ten after eleven and they were about half an hour from the pizza place, so the guys headed out in that direction, knowing they would be early.

000Sadie's Pizza Shack000

The guys were already at the pizza place, waiting for the girls to show up. They arrived five minutes before noon and the guys, who were tired of waiting, were happy to see them.

"What movies did you rent?" Buffy asked.

"We didn't rent them, we bought them." Connor explained. "We figured we could give the chick flicks to you guys."

"Cool. Which brings us back to the first question- what movies did you get?" Buffy asked again.

"_The Mummy_, _Miss Congeniality_, _13 Going on 30_, and _The Exorcist_." Angel answered.

"_The Exorcist_?" Cordelia asked incredulously.

"Yeah...Is that a problem?" Xander asked.

"Well, one time at one of our sleepovers we rented that, but we got scared after the demon possessed that girl, so we turned it off." Willow confessed.

"Ah, but this time you have strong men around to protect you." Xander said, imitating Arnold Schwarzenneger and flexing his muscles. The girls giggled.

Finally, a waiter came and took their order. They ordered one large pepperoni pizza, one large cheese pizza, one large sausage and mushroom pizza and one large pizza with everything on it. They weren't really sure what 'everything' was, but they ordered it anyway, wanting to be surprised.

They were surprised, alright. The pizza with everything on it had jalepino (can't spell that...sorry) peppers, sausage, ham, pineapple, onions, pepperoni, mushrooms, bacon and some other unidentified type of meat.

Of course, Xander was the first to try it. "Mmm." He mumbled as he took a bite of the pizza. "It's good."

Everyone else was still nervous about trying it. Buffy was brave and took a slice as well. "Hey, it is good." She confirmed.

"Your opinion doesn't count considering what you ate this morning." Willow laughed, referring to Buffy's 'pickled hot wings' breakfast. Everyone else laughed too.

"So, ladies, did you find the perfect bathingsuits?" Xander asked between bites of his pizza. All four girls nodded happily.

"And we bought some other stuff too." Dawn replied.

"Should've seen that one coming." Connor joked. Dawn kicked his foot playfully under the table.

The girls told them everything they'd bought besides the bathing suits. You'd be surprised how much they managed to buy in less than an hour. Buffy bought a brown ruffled mini-skirt with a pink and white ribbon tied at the top that would match her new bathingsuit. She also got a pair of pink flip-flops. Willow got a white babydoll top and white flip-flops that had pear-colored sequins on the straps. Dawn bought a blck Billabong tube top that had a cluster of blue flowers in one corner and a pair of cut-off denim shorts. Cordelia got a pink cami with brown lace at the top and a pink and silver leather belt.

By the time the girls finished talking about everything they bought, everyone was almost done eating. They'd ordered too much pizza and would have to bring the rest home.

"I wonder what's going on down there." Buffy said, motioning toward the growing group of people in one spot down by the beach.

"I don't know." Angel answered. "Let's go check it out." Everyone agreed. When they came closer to the crowd they could hear a man with a mega-phone say something about a sandcastle contest. Sure enough, the person (or group) that made the best sandcastle would win a hundred dollars and a fifty dollar gift certificate to Sadie's Pizza Shack. The maximum people per group was eight, so it was perfect. And you could make anything you wanted- not just a castle. So the eight teens entered the contest. They would be given fifteen minutes to think of what they wanted to make, then an hour and a half to make it.

The guys had their bathing suits on under their shorts and the girls had theirs under their clothes. So everyone stripped and the guys took a moment to drool over the girls' new bathing suits.

The contest started and the teens, along with everyone else, thought about what they should make. Amazingly, Xander was the one who came up with the best idea. No, it wasn't food. he suggested that they build a giant camera- like as tall as they were. Only it would be the kind of camera that spits out the picture right after you take. (I don't know what it's called, I'm not a camera person..., but hopefully you get what I'm saying.)

Everyone agreed on the idea and got straight to work after the fifteen minute thinking period was over. They started by making a giant mound of sand. Yes, there was occassional sand throwing. Next, they started to work the damp sand into the shape of a camera.

Buffy glanced over to see what other people were making. The group of teens to the left of them were maiing something that looked very similar to theirs. She wondered what it could be.

After an hour or so of shaping, the lump of sand actually looked like a camera- A huge one at that. It even had a giant, square picture sticking out the bottom of the camera. They continued to shape it, adding more detail to the camera, like the trigger, the lens and...other stuff. Hey, I already said I'm not a camera person...

Buffy rememered the people next to them. She looked over to see what their sculpture had ended up being, and she couldn't believe her eyes. It was a camera. Not only a camera, but the kind that the picture pops out at the bottom!

"Xander, look!" Buffy said, hitting Xander's arm to get his attention.

"Huh, what?" He asked, confused.

Buffy nodded her head in the direction where the other teens were, about twenty feet away from them.

"What the hell?" Xander whispered, obviously angered. He stormed over to the other six teens and told them what happened.

"This sucks!" Cordelia pouted.

"And I don't think theres's anything we can do about it." Willow said. "I mean, there's no way to prove it was our idea first, not theirs."

Everyone nodded. They decided to ignore the people over there and keep working on their camera.

Finally, a loud whistle blew, signalling for everyone to stop working on their sculptures. There were six judges. Three would start judging on one end of the beach and the other three would begin judging on the other side. They would meet in the middle.

When three judges came up to The teen's giant camera, they admired it. They had to look up to view all of it; it was taller than most of them.

"What do you call it?" One of the pruny old lady judges asked. They hadn't thought of a name! Xander jumped in.

"It's called Camera Fetish." He said proudly. The seven other teens giggled and laughed quietly.

The judges asked a few more questions before heading on to the _other_ giant camera.

"Camera Fetish?" Cordelia giggled.

"Hey, it works." Xander said, smiling.

Soon the winners were announced.

"This year's third place winner is:...Bobby Sullivan and his friends!" Some guy named Bobby stepped up and took his little trophy and everyone clapped.

"Out second place winner is:...Xander Harris and his friends!" Xander jogged over and got their trophy. They'd won fifty dollars and a twenty-five dollar gift certifitcate to Sadie's Pizza Shack. Xander had such a big, goofy smile on his face, you would've thought he won the Nobel Peace Prize or something. Cordelia gave him a kiss when he got back.

The first place winner turned out to some weird middle-aged guy who made a model of Mount Rushmore.

"Go figure." Xander scoffed. "Stupid freaking geniuses." Everybody laughed. They were perfectly content with winning second place. Apparently their camera had been more detailed than the other peoples'.

They got a camera from the car and got some random beach-goer to take a picture of everyone in front of the giant camera before they destroyed it- which was as fun as making it.

The girls got into Cordelia's car and the guys got into Oz's van and they drove back to the house. As soon as they were home they went back outside and swam for an hour or so. They really needed to wash the sand off of themselves.

When they came inside and changed into dry clothes it was around four o'clock. Jenny was sitting on the couch watching TV. She had a worried expression on her face.

"What's wrong, Aunt Jenny?" Willow asked. Jenny just pointed at the television screen. Everyone looked. Another girl went missing in the area. Within the past few hours too.

"But...they caught the guy." Buffy said, confused.

"There must be another one out there."Connor said, wanting to hold Dawn and keep her safe and never let her go.

A picture of the newest missing girl came up on the screen. She had shoulder-length dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes. Her name was Jordan Goodman. Everyone felt a little nervous again. They'd been out all day being worry-free when really some psychopath might've been prowling the streets. But the feeling faded after a while and the teens left the living room to go watch the movies the guys had bought.

Everyone settled down downstairs in the basement. They'd play the DVD's off the playstion. They decided to watch them upstairs because they knew that Jenny wouldn't approve of the horror movies they picked., and she didn't like to come down in the basement, so Xander knew to come down there when he didn't want her to see something. So everyone brought blankets and pillows down and set them up. They brought down the pizza too.

Dawn and Cordelia shared a blanket. Xander was on the other side of Cordelia and they were sitting very close to each other. Connor was on the other side of Dawn, sitting far enough away so it wasn't suspicious looking. But their blankets were touching, so they were holding hands beneath the two blankets. Willow and Oz were wrapped in a blanket together. Buffy was wrapped in a blanket of her own, sitting next to Willow. Ang had his own blanket as well, and was sitting next to Buffy.

They started out by watching _Ms. Congeniality_. Everyone agreed that it was a good movie, and it even had a tiny bit of violence, which kept the guys from freaking out during the beauty pageants.

"I had no idea Sandra Bullock looked so...ugh...without makeup..." Angel trailed off.

Then they watched _The Mummy_. It was okay...The guys, being guys, were yelling at the TV half the time telling the people to run faster...

Then they watched _The Exorcist_. The girls kept hiding their faces when the possessed girl was up on the screen.

"Eww, that's disgusting even to me!" Xander cried when the girl was stabbing herself in the bed. After watching that, everyone was happy to have a non-scary movie to watch. They watched _13 Going on 30_. It was okay, but they'd seen better...well...they didn't see half of it because they fell asleep in the middle of the movie. Cordelia was the first to fall asleep, then Dawn, Willow and Buffy in that order. Eventually the guys fell asleep as well.


	14. Chapter 13 Fall to Pieces

Chapter Thirteen- Fall To Pieces

A/N: Chapter written by Willowzlilsecret. Also, we would like to thank our faithful reviewer Vanillagigglez for, well...faithfully reviewing. Thanks soo much! D This chapter is for her.

Everyone woke up achy from sleeping on random places on the floor downstairs. Oz and Willow were the first ones up and went up to the kitchen to have some breakfast.

"I'll make pancakes." Oz offered.

"Sounds good to me." Willow agreed and sat down at the table as Oz began pulling things out of cabinets and getting ready to cook. Moments later they were joined by Angel and Xander and Cordelia. Everyone stayed in the kitchen at the table. Angel sat next to Willow and Xander sat across from him, with Cordelia on his lap. They were almost constantly kissing, as if they couldn't keep their hands off each other. Angel and Willow exchanged glances and tried not laugh.

"So, Angel, Darla's coming in only two days." Oz said from the stove. He was flipping a pancake and Willow noticed he had flour on his nose. She giggled and got up and went over to him, wiping it off. He rubbed her arm in thanks and returned his attention to Angel.

"Yeah, I really am not sure if that's a good thing." he said sounding anxious.

"Buffy." Willow and Oz commented in unison.

"That obvious?" he asked. Willow nodded solemnly.

"I'll be right back, I'm getting a sweatshirt." Willow said. Angel looked out the window, it was raining. Thankfully no lightning.

"What are we doing today?" Cordelia asked, looking away from Xander for two seconds.

"I don't know. Maybe hanging out with our girlfriends." Xander said, annoyed that she had stopped kissing him.

"Ok, well that leaves Angel, Dawn, and Connor all alone." Cordelia said shooting a look at Oz. He understood.

"Well, I'm sure that Buffy would be more then willing to hang out with Angel tonight." Willow added in as she returned.

"Stop acting like I'm not in the room!" Angel exclaimed.

"Sorry." Everyone said.

"Ok, well what are we doing until we hang out with our girlfriends…boyfriends." Cordelia asked.

"Well the girls could go shopping." Willow suggested.

"And the guys could practice a little. Music. We haven't done much over the past week." Oz suggested. Everyone in the room agreed and would tell people as they appeared. Buffy was the next awake, bringing Beans and Snoopy with her. She still looked half asleep and went over and kissed Willow on the cheek before sitting down on Xander and Cordelia's laps.

"Buffy? You awake?" Willow asked, a little amused.

"The Corona…is Angel there? Where did that boy go?" Buffy asked.

"Did you check the refrigerator?" Willow asked, using what she had said weeks ago in the car.

"Why would I be in the refrigerator?" Angel asked.

"I can smell him…That boy needs to take a shower!" Buffy exclaimed.

"I think that might be the dog." Cordelia pointed out.

"Dogs…I don't want a hot dog…I want Angel." Buffy groaned.

"Right here, Buff." Angel said, sounding amused. She slowly got off of Cordelia and Xander who both let out sighs of relief. Cordelia took her own seat and watched fascinated, as Buffy made her way over to Angel. And she began petting him. Suddenly her eyes snapped open in mid-pet. Her face turned bright red.

"Oops." she said and took her hand off of Angel's head. She sat down, refusing to speak.

"Buff, You awake now?" Xander asked.

"Yes." she muttered, rubbing her face away as if that would make it less red. Willow was still standing with Oz and she pulled her hair into a ponytail.

"So Bottle up old love, throw it out to sea

Watch it out to sea as you cry

A year has passed, the seasons go" Angel sang quietly. Amazingly enough, he didn't sound as terrible as normal.

"Wow, nice song." Cordelia nodded. Angel stole a glance at Buffy who was looking at him. She was just full-on staring. He tried not to notice.

"Buffy." Willow said taking a step forward, ready to clap in front of Buffy's face, if she needed to. Buffy looked at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing." Willow said and felt Oz touching the top of her sweatshirt. She looked at him curiously.

"Tag." he explained. She smiled at Buffy who was smiling back. The two were so cute together.

"So what's today's plan?" Dawn asked as she came up the stairs rubbing her eyes. Connor was right behind her. He ran a hand through his messy hair.

"Well, girls are shopping then hanging with their people. Cordelia and Xander, Me and Angel, you and Connor, Willow and Oz." Buffy explained. Apparently she had heard what was going on. Angel smiled at being picked over Spike. Unfortunately, Buffy was planning to spend the day with Spike. She hadn't seen him in a while. Willow knew exactly what she was thinking. Oz handed her a plate of pancakes and she put it on the table as well as a stack of plates. Everyone took a plate and a pancake or two. Soon they were all gone with a high demand for more. Oz was already on it. Jenny and Giles appeared at the bottom of the stairs, obviously waiting for their pancakes.

"Hey Mom, Dad, what are you guys doing today?" Xander asked.

"We are having a special day and night together, so you kids are on your own tonight." Jenny said hugging Giles and kissing him on the cheek.

"Enough said!" Xander joked.

"Well, we're just going to eat a little and leave." Giles said, grabbing a plate and waiting for the pancakes to be served. Jenny did the same. Soon they were ready and Willow was putting them on the table. Oz knew there wouldn't be any left for him or Willow so he made a few extras. Soon Jenny and Giles were done and they left. The six teens that were done eating went in to watch TV and began discussing the Exorcist. Willow and Oz sat in the kitchen eating their pancakes.

"What do you want to do tonight?" Willow asked for lack of anything else to say.

"Whatever works, I mean we could see a movie or something." Oz suggested.

"Oh yeah, that'd be cool." Willow nodded smiling. They both finished and put the dishes in the sink and went into the living room with everyone else.

"So…shopping?" Cordelia asked. All the girls agreed and went up to their rooms to get ready.

"What are we doing all of today?" Xander asked. "Other then practicing."

"We can…play video games." Connor suggested with an evil glint in his eye.

"Oh and I suppose you think you're going to win." Oz commented.

"Oh, I don't think. I _know_." Connor grinned.

"I'd like to test that theory." Angel joked.

"Oh, it's on." Connor laughed. They guys began down the stairs to go play their video games.

000At the Mall000

"Ok, I'm meeting Spike over in the music store in half an hour." Buffy said pointing to a little music shop in the corner of the mall.

"Well, why don't we call the guys and have them help us pick out video games until then." Cordelia suggested, already dialing home. They walked into the video game store and the guys were on speaker phone by then.

"How about…monkeyball." Buffy suggested looking at one of them.

"Aww! The monkeys are sooo cute!" Dawn exclaimed giggling.

"Come on! That is _such_ a girly game!" Xander objected.

"Is not!" came Angel's voice.

"Let's just give it a try." Oz said quietly.

"Yeah, Xander, majority rules. But it." Connor concluded. And it went on like that for half an hour and Buffy waved goodbye quietly and went over to the music store.

000On the Stairs000

"She's alone…perfect…she'll be the first. I have to get her." The man muttered as he took off his hat and started down the stairs.

000In the Music Shop000

Spike approached Buffy and tapped her shoulder. She jumped a little then turned around.

"Hey." she said and kissed him.

"Buffy. I want you to meet some of my buddies." he said grasping her hand. She was a little nervous at first and then even more nervous when she saw who his buddies were. They were all wearing very baggy clothes (and not the attractive kind either) had long greasy hair that had weird colors streaked in, and smelled of smoke. She decided that she didn't like them. She clung tightly to Spike as he pointed to each of them saying their names.

"I don't like them." she whispered into his ear while standing on her tip-toes. He nodded and waved goodbye as he walked away from them.

"Just like that? You didn't even try to make me stay near them." Buffy said relieved.

"Yeah, well, if my Buffy doesn't like them, then I'm not going to make her stay near them." he pointed out.

"Thank God." she murmured. "So where are we going?"

"Maybe we could go over to my apartment and just hang out." Spike suggested. Buffy had wanted to see where he was living. She agreed.

000At the House000

Xander was moping in a corner because the girls had bought a bunch of, well, girly games. He knew deep down he would probably enjoy them more then anyone else, but he still wanted to mope to prove his point.

"Come on, Xander, that's Angel's job, stop being a baby and get over here." Connor joked

"HEY!" came from both Xander and Angel. Connor and Oz laughed and decided that they would battle.

000Five hours later000

Buffy met back with the girls at the mall and they went home with video games, snacks, more disposable cameras, and food. They put monkeyball in, ready to prove to Xander that it wasn't a girly game. They could start their couples night when they were done.

000Fifteen minutes later000

"Jump!" Xander yelled as he jumped from his seat.

"How do you jump?" Connor asked frantically, looking at the controller.

"You can't jump!" Angel exclaimed. The girls were just watching the guys be entertained by the girly game…Xander most of all.

"Ok, time to shut this off and start our couples night." Cordelia said as she planted a kiss on Xander's lips.

"Agreed." he replied and grasped her hand.

"Ok, where is everyone going?" Willow asked.

"Down to the beach." Cordelia replied.

"We're staying here." Angel said and pulled Buffy onto his lap. She began laughing.

"We're going to the party." Connor said grasping Dawn's hand. He immediately let go, remembering that no one knew.

"Ok, and we're going to the movies." Oz said. Everyone nodded and went their separate ways. Angel and Buffy went up to the living room and just sat on the couch eating junk food.

"Darla is coming in two days." Angel said softly.

"I know." Buffy nodded.

"But you were asleep." Angel wondered.

"I have very good hearing in my sleep. I can multitask." she joked. He gave a small smile. He very rarely smiled widely. Buffy looked in his chocolatey brown eyes and wondered if she made the right decision. Did she _really_ love Spike? Suddenly she felt herself leaning in and Angel was doing the same. Their lips met and Buffy had never felt anything like it. She felt happy and guilty and sad all at the same time. She put a hand on Angel's cheek and deepened the kiss. He put a hand on her back, pulling her closer.

"We shouldn't." Buffy said, finally pulling away. Not being with him. Not kissing him…it felt like her heart was being ripped out. He agreed and offered to make something to eat.

"Sure." Buffy said and switched on the TV. The girl that went missing was found in the dump. The same place that Joe had been leaving his bodies. "It looks like maybe someone is getting revenge for Joseph Sanchez, or maybe thought it would just be a good idea…" Buffy hugged herself nervously, thinking that she probably had a good idea of who it was. Suddenly the phone rang. She answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi its Mike, I wanted to know if Cordelia was there." he asked.

"Uh, no, I don't remember where she went, but can I take a message?" Buffy asked.

"Just tell her that the missing girl turned up dead and that…she might be next." Mike told her. Suddenly there was static on the line and then it went dead. Buffy decided to keep it to herself. Angel came back in with some food and the two began eating in silence.

000Down On the Beach000

The man snapped shut his phone and saw her. The second one. She was walking with some man. He watched her and ran past, unnoticed. Xander kissed Cordelia softly on the neck.

"We can stop walking now." she said and sat back on the sand. Xander sat down next to her and held her close to him, kissing her.

"Let's go in the water." Xander said smirking.

"With our clothes on?" Cordelia asked.

"Yeah…it'll be fun." Xander said.

"Ok." Cordelia agreed, a smile forming on her face. The two ran into the water, splashing around, getting soaked. They grabbed onto each other and began kissing. Suddenly rain began falling around them. The two looked up into the sky and began laughing and kissed again. Cordelia had never had this much fun in her entire life, even though her hair was tangled, her clothes were soaked, and she was going out with someone who would be considered a little bit of a dork.

"I love you. So much." Xander said before kissing her again.

"I love you…more!" Cordelia joked.

"I love you most." he said holding her tightly.

"I love you morer then most."

000At the Movies000

"I can't believe it was sold out." Willow sighed. Oz agreed and then sat on the hood of his van, then pulled himself on the top. Willow followed, almost afraid the car would collapse under them. They lay on the hood of his van and looked up at the stars. The same as Angel and Buffy had done a few days before.

"I never want to leave you." Oz said suddenly.

"It's still June, Oz, we have time." Willow comforted him. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Oh, I know, but I mean never. Not now, not ever." he explained. Willow kissed him, unsure of what to say. He kissed her back, holding her tightly. He felt himself begin to cry. When Willow saw his tears, she too started crying.

"We will. Be together. Forever." Willow assured him and they laid together in silence under the sparkling stars.

000At The Party000

Connor and Dawn danced together through the loud music, kissing every now and then.

"It's so un-romantic here." Dawn complained, only an hour in.

"Well, where do you want to go?" Connor asked holding her.

"I don't know…I guess this works." Dawn said finally. The went over to a couch and began kissing.

"Nothing…too much…here…people can see." Dawn warned.

000Three Hours Later000

Everyone returned home, tired and ready to sleep. They all ate something small and then went off to their beds.

_I don't wanna fall to pieces_

_I just wanna sit and stare at you_

_I don't wanna talk about it_

_I don't want a conversation,_

_I just wanna cry in front of you_

_And I don't wanna talk about it_

_Cause I'm in love with you _


	15. Chapter 14 She Makes an Appearance

Chapter Fourteen - She Finally Makes an Appearace...

A/N:This chapter was written by Ozlover.

"Mmm...Saturday. Yay." Buffy mumbled as she dragged herself out of bed. She'd had a dream about Angel. He and she were in a club called the Bronze back in Sunnydale and they were dancing to a slow song when Spike came up with a bottle of Corona and started yelling at Buffy. And then Darla (Buffy didn't know what she looked like, so her imagination kind of made her up) was there and she had a grey cat that kept hissing at her an Angel. All in all it was a pleasant dream until the Spike and Darla showed up.

"Yay? Did you forget what today is?" Willow asked as she too sat up in bed. It was about nine in the morning and sunlight was streaming into the room.

"Apparently." Buffy said. "Why, what's today.?"

"Darla's making her apprearance." Willow answered.

"Gah." Buffy fell back over in bed and pulled the covers over her head.

"Hey, you asked." Willow reminded her.

"I know, I know..." Buffy sighed. "Will, I have to tell you something."

"What?" Willow asked, immediately concerned.

"Well...last night, Angel and I kinda kissed." Buffy said, feeling guilty.

"That's great!" Willow exclaimed. Then she looked at Buffy's pained expression. "Ok, that's not great. Why is that not great?"

"Because I liked it. And because Spike." Buffy answered.

Willow nodded in understanding.

"I'm so confused! But now Angel's gonna see Darla and forget all about me." Buffy said sadly.

"And you care?"

"Well, yeah, I care." Buffy said, surprised that Willow would even ask that.

"Well, it's hard to know what to tell you, Buff. I don't know if I should be saying 'Darla could never compare to you, Angel likes you way more' or 'Good, now Angel has Darla and he won't distract you from Spike'." Willow said.

"I'm sorry..." Buffy apologized.

"Don't be. You're strong. I know you can figure this out. And I think that deep down, your heart's already decided who you really want, so you don't need to be asking me." Willow said, giving her best friend an encouraging smile. Buffy grinned widely and jumped over to Willow's bed and the two girls hugged tightly.

They got dressed to go downstairs. Buffy put on her new brown mini-skirt and a pink tank top. Willow put on a light pink mini-skirt and a white halter top. When they got downstairs they saw that Oz, Angel, Xander and Connor were already awake and watching TV.

"What's on?" Buffy asked. She sat down next to Xander and Willow sat on Oz's lap.

"Just more stuff about that girl that was found raped, but nothing new, really." Angel answered. There was a long silence.

"Hey, has anyone seen Snoopy?" Cordelia asked as she emerged from upstairs. Nobody had.

"I wonder where he is..." Willow said. The other three dogs were there, running around and yipping-except for Turtle, who was under the coffee table. Again.

"I don't, I'm glad he's gone." Buffy said, happy that the little puppy wasn't pestering her. Willow reached over and hit her arm playfully. Buffy smiled sheepishly.

There was a tapping on the sliding glass door.

"What's that?" Cordelia asked. They looked over at the door and saw nothing

"I dunno..." Buffy got up to look. There was Snoopy, looking damp and covered with beach sand. She opened the door, going to pick him up to maybe bring him into the bathroom to wash him off. He had other plans. He burst threw the door, running over to Beans and Fuzzball, yipping excitedly and then running back to Buffy to encirle her. While he was doing this he was spreading sand everywhere. Finally, Buffy was able to snatch him.

"Great." Buffy said, looking at the sand all over the living room.

"I guess we should clean this up." Willow said, sighing.

"I'll clean Snoopy off." Buffy said, heading upstairs to the bathroom.

Willow, Xander, Oz, Angel, Connor, Cordelia and Dawn, who'd passed Buffy on the stairs on her way down, all cleaned up the living room. A loud banging on the door made everyone stop what they were doing.

Xander walked over and opened the door. There stood a girl with blonde, shoulder length hair and tons of bags scattered around her. "Hey I'm Darla, Angel's girlfriend." She stuck out her hand and Xander took it and shook it politlely. She looked over and saw Angel sitting on the couch.

"Hey, Baby!" Darla said happily as she pushed past Xander, rushed over to Angel and hugged him tightly.

"Hey, Darla. Uh, these are my friends." Angel said. He went on to introduce everyone in the room.

"You told me on the phone that there were eight people inlcuding you. This is only seven." Darla pointed out.

"Yeah, Buffy's upstairs." Angel answered. "Here...I'll get your bags." He headed outside to grab the bags. He was glad when Xander, Oz and Connor offered to help. There were way too many bags for one person to carry. Xander led the way up the stairs to where Darla would be rooming. It was at the very end of the hallway and very similar to Willow and Buffy's and Dawn and Cordelia's. She thanked the guys and stayed in her room to get her things settled in. The guys headed back downstairs.

Buffy was sitting on her knees, leaning over the tub scrubbing off Snoopy. When he was clean she took him out and toweled him off. She then cleaned out the tub, which had sand stuck all in it.

"What should I do, Snoopy?" Buffy asked the puppy as she finished drying him off with a towel. "Darla's coming today. Should I tell Angel how I feel? Or should I just forget my feelings about him and be glad that I have Spike?"

Snoopy just yipped softly and stuck his tongue out happily. He had such a simple life. She envied him.

If Buffy didn't tell Angel how she felt before Darla came, she wouldn't have another chance. She was determined to tell him. He'd kissed her, right? So he i must /i have some feelings for her.

She let Snoopy out of the bathroom just as Angel was walking towards the stairs. She pulled him away from the other guys.

"Hi." She said, feeling her confidence slowly draining away.

"Hi." Angel returned, unsure of why she pulled him aside.

"So...About what happened last night..." She started, moving a little bit closer to him. Angel didn't say anything. He noticed Darla coming out of her room. Buffy's back was to her. He and Buffy were standing suspiciously close and he didn't want to make his girlfriend upset on her first day being there. So, even though he wanted to be near Buffy more than anything, he slowly backed away.

"Angel?" Buffy inquired. She was confused.

"Angel, who's your friend?" Darla asked as she came up from behind Buffy, who jumped slightly at the sudden voice.

"Oh, this is my friend, Buffy." Angel answered. Buffy felt herself sinking. Darla was here and she missed her chance...Buffy's imagination seemed to put emphasis on the word 'friend'. i I must be nothing more than a friend to him /i Buffy realized, feeling a horrible knot twisting inside of her.

"Hi, nice to meet you." Buffy said numbled, shaking Darla's extended hand.

"You too." Darla replied sweetly. Buffy thought she saw a small sneer on her face, but it must be her jumbled mind, making things up. Buffy scanned Darla- almost as if she were compitition or something...and maybe she was. Buffy didn't want to belive she was going to be fighting with another girl for Angel's attention...But it sure looked like it was going to be that way.

Darla was wearing a skimpy black skirt- one of the shortest Buffy had ever seen, and a sleeveless button up,see through white shirt that was notted at the top, just below her chest. And she was wearing a black bra underneath, obviously, the shirt was see through...That was when Buffy labled her a skank. The still sane part of her knew she was judging Darla so harshly because she was Angel's girlfriend. So she just drifted back downstairs without another word to Angel or his skank- girlfriend! She meant girlfriend...

Everyone ate breakfast together and got to know Darla. She seemed sweet enough...

The nine teens decided to change into their bathing suits and head to the beach. The guys played football, Darla layed on a beach towel and tanned while the girls all swam together and talked.

"I don't know...I just don't like her." Buffy said, glancing at Darla on the shore. "I know it doesn't seem fair that I'm judging her before I know her..." She trailed off.

"I know what you mean." Dawn said.

"Yeah, she's just...too perfect. It's weird." Cordelia replied.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I mean, she's just...ugh." Buffy said, smiling that all four of the girls were together and connecting.

When everyone was tired of swimming and playing football and tanning the decided to do something else.

"I think there's a band playing on the beach a little ways down from here. We could check it out." Xander suggested. Everyone agreed. The teens changed and headed over to the beach. Some garage band called Seven Days was playing. They played alternative music and the teens stayed and danced for awhile before heading back to the house for the left-over pizza.

"How old is this pizza?" Darla asked as she and the other girls were eating in the kitchen.

"Only three days." Dawn answered.

"So it's still good?" Darla asked.

Dawn nodded. Darla finally took a bite of the pizza.

"Are there any good nail salons around here?" Darla asked suddenly.

"Yeah, I think there's a couple around here. I know there's one in the mall." Willow answered.

"Good, 'cause I need my nails re-done." Darla replied, inspecting her chipped french-tipped nails.

"We could all do that tomorrow." Buffy suggested. The other girls all agreed.

"So...How long have you and Angel been together?" Cordelia asked because it was the only thing she could think to say to her.

"Almost a year and a half." Darla said, smiling proudly. "And everything's going smoothly."

"Good for you." Buffy said, trying not to sound jealous.

Darla smiled. When the girls finished eating they went to find the guys. They were in the basement playing video games. As soon as they were in the room Darla immediately walked over to Angel, sat in his lap and started making out with him, which kind of caught everyone off-guard. When Darla finally pulled away, she glanced at Buffy out of the corner of her eye. When the two girls' eyes met, Buffy dropped her icy gaze.

"You're still playing Monkeyball." Willow observed with a smirk.

Xander nodded his head vigorously, not taking his eyes off the screen. He was playing against Connor and was determinded to win.

"But you said it was a girly game." Cordelia said slyly, grinning.

"It is. But it's a very addicting girly game." Xander replied. the girls giggled.

"Argh! Are you sure you can't jump?" Xander asked, getting all excited.

"I'm sure." Angel answered.

"Greeeat." Xander replied. Connor beat Xander and played against Angel next.

Suddenly, Buffy remembered something. "Uh, I'm gonna go to my room." She said as she got up and left the room. When she got into her and Willow's room she grabbed her cell phone and flopped down on the bed with it. She had told Spike she would call him Saturday...which was today. She had his number on voice dial, so said his name and her phone dialed his apartment number. He picked up on the second ring.

" 'Ello?"

"Hey, Spike."

"Oh, hey Buffy. How've you been?" He asked.

They talked for about fifteen minutes about nothing in particular.

"Bye, Buffy."

"Bye."

"I love you." Spike said sincerely. There was a silence.

"I love you too." Buffy said back. She wasn't sure if she was lying or not, so she didn't know if she should be feeling guilty. She just didn't know.

Whens got back to the basement everyone was getting up.

"What are we doing now?" Buffy asked.

"Wer're going swimming in the pool." Angel answered. Buffy sighed and followed Willow back up to their room to change into their bathingsuits.

By the time Buffy and Willow were outside almost everyone else was already out there. The two girls exchanged glances, smiling and ran and jumped into the pool holding hands, making a big splash.

"Angel, come in with me?" Darla asked sweetly from her place in the hot tub.

"In a minute, Honey." Angel replied. He, Xander, Connor, Oz, Willow and Buffy managed to play football in the pool. It was the girls plus Xander versus The other three guys. The girls and Xander were winning.

Darla rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the magazine she was reading. Dawn and Cordelia were laying in the sun on lawn chairs, occasionally getting splashed by the people in the pool. Eventually they were so wet they decided that they should just go in the pool, so they did. And then the teams switched to girls vs guys. Xander kept tackling Cordelia and causing the game to pause for a moment while everyone watched on in amusement as he chased the shrieking Cordelia around the pool until he caught her.

"Angel, are you coming?" Darla asked again. Truthfully, Angel was having fun in the pool, but didn't want to make Darla mad- he knew how she could get when she was mad. So he agreed and stayed in the hot tub with her for about ten minutes before saying he was too hot and got out to go back in the pool. For about nine out of the ten minutes Darla was all over Angel.

They stayed in the pool until around dinner-time, when it started to thunderstorm. Jenny made dinner again. She made hot dogs, hamburgers, baked beans and a salad- Nothing too big, considering she had to make enough to fill up nine teenagers and two adults.

After dinner everyone went back down to the basement to watch a movie on the PS2. They watched a horror movie- Stephen King's i It /i . The girls hid their faces when Pennywise the Clown(I think his name was Pennywise...) came on. If being a clown wasn't scary enough, he had long yellow fangs, blood-red eyes and long, black claws.

"I'm scarred for life." Buffy whimpered. She had a fear of clowns. ( A/N:That was for you...You know who you are. lol).

The teens decided to go to bed early and get a good night's sleep for once.

"Will, I think we should lock the door tonight." Buffy said into the blackness.

"Why?" Willow asked.

"Because I might kill Darla in my sleep...well...I might be awake." Buffy answered. Willow giggled.

"G'night Buffy."

"G'night...I'm serious about the lock thing, though."

Willow didn't respond. She was already half-asleep. Buffy drifted off to sleep soon after.


	16. Chapter 15 Traumatized

**A/N: WHOA! This isn't an allusion! We haven't dropped off the face of the earth! And for anyone(if anyone) has been waiting for an update, we're reeeally sorry it took this long... hasn't been letting me (Ozlover) add anything, because...Well, I don't know. But, it did (obviously) and...well yeah. That's all. But good news- All that time that we haven't updated here, we;ve still been writing, and we're up to chapter 24. (woo-hoo! lol) So, if you're craving an update, let us know! We'll be glad to satisfy. D Ozlover**

Oh, and this chapter was written by Willowzlilsecret

Chapter Fifteen- Traumatized

Everyone woke up around the same time--Dawn and Cordelia had given up on being up before five—and Darla immediately went for the shower.

"I'm after her." Buffy announced. The group grabbed some breakfast and began their discussion of the 'what to do' of the day.

"Hey look guys. Jenny and Giles left us a note. We're supposed to be home by seven and looking nice. We're going to a fancy party for Giles' work." Oz read the post-it stuck to the fridge as he returned the orange juice to its rightful place.

"Well, I guess we should go get our nails and hair done." Willow suggested.

"Yeah Darla wanted her nails done." Buffy said with added emphasis on Darla. She saw Angel shooting her a look. "By the way, Angel, I have to talk to you."

Angel stood up slowly and went into the living room.

"I'm actually not sure what I'm doing, and I'm probably crazy for doing it…" Buffy began after five minutes of silence.

"What is it?" he asked, putting his hand on hers.

"Its just…I'm so confused. I don't know if…" Buffy began and sighed. Suddenly Darla started down the stairs.

"Damn." Angel muttered and pulled Buffy into the closet and signaling for her to be quiet. Buffy suppressed a laugh at the seriousness of Angel's face. When he saw her laughing he smiled brightly. A real smile. Buffy put a hand on Angel's cheek. He looked her in the eye and she felt her heart melting all over again. He leaned down to her and his lips brushed against hers. She felt butterflies awakening in her stomach. She pulled him closer and deepened the kiss. Neither of them could stop, pull away, or object because they were in a small closet. Finally Angel pulled away, but kept his arms around her. She felt one stroking her hair, and the other on the small of her back, playing with the bottom of her shirt. She looked up at him and he grinned and kissed her on the tip of the nose. She did all she could to keep from giggling. Suddenly the door swung open.

It was Willow. "Guys you gotta get out of there. Darla went downstairs looking for Angel, and she's coming back any second now." she warned. The two stumbled out of the closet and Buffy rushed up the stairs and Angel returned to the kitchen.

"Baby! Where were you?" Darla yelped as she threw herself into Angel's arms, raining his face with kisses. He seemed a little distracted.

"Bathroom." he answered. Darla started trying to make out with him and he had no choice but to obey. The rest of the group left the room immediately. Buffy came storming down the stairs.

"She used all the hot water." she said in a dangerous voice. She flopped down on the couch next to Willow and Oz.

"Yeah and now she's in there sucking face with Angel." Connor said in disgust. Buffy shuddered.

"Let's get ready and leave." Dawn suggested. Everyone headed up to their rooms to get ready.

Everyone split up at the mall, the girls to get their hair and nails done, and the guys to buy something nice to wear.

"What color are you getting?" Willow asked Buffy.

"I'm getting dark blue to match a stunning dress I saw a couple stores down." Darla answered.

"I'm getting pink." Buffy said, shooting Darla a look. "You?"

So the girls got their nails and hair done and met the guys in the middle of the mall.

"Lets get some pizza." Buffy suggested. Darla rolled her eyes as if it were the dumbest thing she had ever heard. The rest of the gang agreed. So they took their discount ticket and went to Sadie's.

"I'm going to touch up my makeup. I'll be right back." Darla said and walked-no strutted-back to the bathroom. Buffy pulled Angel off again.

"What I meant to say was…Angel…I think…I think I'm in love with you." she blurted. Angel just looked at her and walked back to the table. She had never felt so rejected in her entire life. She pulled out her cell.

"Spike?"

"Buffy."

"Do you wanna meet me at Sadie's…like now?"

"Sure luv."

"Thanks."

"Love you."

"You too." she hung up and sat back down at the table, refusing to look at Angel. Darla emerged from the bathroom and took her place on Angel's lap. They were worse then Xander and Cordelia, who had been cutting back on the kissage after they saw how disturbing it was. Even Dawn and Connor had cut back a little, which was probably in their and everyone else's best interest.

Minutes later Spike arrived and Buffy greeted him with a deep kiss. He was taken by surprise, but when he saw the look on Angel's face, smiled through the kiss. They broke apart and Spike pulled her into a hug, kissing her neck and whispered,

"Good at making ol' Angel jealous, aren't we." Buffy giggled in response and pulled him over to the table.

"Hi Spike." said pretty much everyone except Angel.

"Spike…it's been a while." Darla said, observing him. She definitely liked what she saw, except for the fact that he had himself wrapped around that…Buffy. The two sat down.

"I need to go to the bathroom." Angel said suddenly, signaling for Buffy to follow. She pretended not to see, but knew deep down moments later she'd be joining him.

"So, pet. Why don't you properly introduce me to your girlfriends." Spike said, nuzzling her neck.

"Well, the redhead is my best friend Willow, the little brunette is my sister Dawn, and the really fashionable one is my other best,  
Cordelia." Buffy pointed out.

"What about me?" Darla questioned.

"And that's Darla." Buffy added after a moment. Darla shot her a look. "I'll be right back. I have to go to the bathroom." She heard Darla huff loudly and could take pride in at least that. She was about to go into the bathroom, but Angel pulled her into a storage area.

"Another closet?" she asked, pretending to be annoyed.

"Buffy, please, I'm sorry about earlier." Angel said softly.

"Which part, the one where you dragged me into a closet and kissed me, or the one where you ripped my heart into about a bazillion pieces and flushed them down the toilet without a second glance?" Buffy accused. He pulled her close to him and began kissing her. She wanted so badly to push away, to object. But she just felt so perfect in his arms. In the back of her mind, she played over and over what would happen if Spike walked in. He finally let go of her.

"I'm not sorry about that." he said softly, caressing her cheek. She closed her eyes to hold back tears. "And I'd like to fix your heart…put it back together…if you let me."

"Angel, you heard what I said before. And just walking away, like you didn't care. A kiss isn't going to make up for that. You hurt me, Angel, and its gonna take a while for me to let you in." Buffy said quietly, not letting her tears fall.

"Well, it was rather sudden. What did you expect me—"

"Say something—anything! Not just walk away." Buffy said, finally letting the tears fall. She left the storage area and went straight into the bathroom. Angel sighed and reluctantly returned to the table.

The group got home around six and Buffy invited Spike to stay and go to the party with them, seeing as she was sure that Jenny and Giles wouldn't want her to be the…ninth…wheel. That's a lot of wheels…  
Fortunately, Spike had something nice to wear at home and ran back to get it, also bringing his normal clothes-for after.

So the guys were mostly ready before the girls and went downstairs to play video games. Angel pretty much 'cold-shouldered' him the whole time, and Oz and Connor were the first to show any acceptance. Spike proved to be not-so-bad…and could beat Connor at the video games…Oz was still video game champion.

Upstairs the girls were putting on make-up, perfume, trying on clothes and shoes, and talking.

"I just…I guess seeing how disgusting Darla and Angel looked, made me think about what I was doing. I mean, if he had asked, I probably would've slept with him." Dawn said as she put some hair spray into her hair.

"I'm just embarrassed that Xander and I did that sort of thing in public! I mean ew!" Cordelia agreed.

"Well its more of an 'ew' because its Darla, but yes...very ew." Dawn nodded and started on her make up.

"But…I mean…it kind of makes you wonder why Angel and Buffy are spending all that time in the closet." Cordelia changed the subject…in a way.

"So you saw the storage closet thing too?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, but I think Willow was the only other one. Darla was too busy daydreaming about screwing Spike." Cordelia laughed and was joined by Dawn.

"Willow, I'm such an idiot." Buffy cried.

"What-no! You're not an idiot, Buffy. What would make you think that?"  
Willow asked, dropping what she was doing.

"I-I told Angel that I loved him…and he just walked away. But then he tried to say sorry and I was still mad and so then I just walked away and now he'll never like me." Buffy wailed, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh, come here Buffy." Willow said, pulling Buffy to her, unsure of what else to say. She held Buffy and stroked her hair, letting her cry. Buffy was glad that Willow didn't accuse her, and was just there to hold her, not mentioning Spike. She cried even harder at the thought of Spike and how confused she was. "Shhh, shhh." Willow said gently, rubbing her back softly. Buffy finally let up after about five minutes. "I'll be right back."

She returned with a cold, damp washcloth. "Here, Buffy, it's okay." Willow said as she wiped the tears and tearstains off of Buffy's cheeks. As soon as she was done, Buffy pulled her into a tight hug, and held back any more tears. Willow kissed her hair softly and Buffy let go.

"Thanks." she said, her voice cracking. Willow nodded, feeling tears of her own fill her eyes.

"Well I'm going up to the bathroom, mates. I'll be right back." Spike said standing up. He went up the stairs and smacked straight into Darla. She glanced around and pulled him into the kitchen.

"You've changed…and for the better, might I add." Darla said, running her hands up and down his chest.

"As have you…except for the better part." Spike said, trying to push her off.

"Oh, come on, you know you want it." she said and began kissing his neck. He tried again to push her away, but she was stronger then she looked.

"Darla, please. I love Buffy. And I don't want you all over me." he said softly, trying to push her off.

"Oh everyone 'loves' Buffy. But everyone also knows that I am the best…well…at other things." she laughed and nibbled on his ear. He had enough. He pushed her off and went straight downstairs, his only escape from Darla.

Giles and Jenny arrived home at about the time everyone was ready to leave. Everyone was wearing their nicest outfits and were each paired up. Darla in a dark blue very short dress with dark blue nails, dark blue eye shadow, and her hair up in a dark blue barrette. Buffy had her hair up in a half ponytail and had a light pink, slightly longer dress, and light pink nails and make up. Willow was wearing a peach dress and had her hair styled up in something rather hard to describe…(sort of how she had it for the prom in season three, except with longer hair) and peach nails and make up. Cordelia was wearing an emerald green dress with her hair falling around her face and nails and make up to match. Dawn was wearing purple with clear polish and matching purple eye shadow.

Each of them were paired with their combed and clean boyfriends, and were all standing ready to leave.

"How many people can your car take, Darla? Ours is only a four person, but we could fit five." Jenny said.

"Same with mine." Cordelia added.

"Mine can only fit two." Darla said.

"Well, that works perfectly." Jenny smiled.

"Except one couple is going to have to split." Buffy added.

"We can." Connor volunteered. Dawn gave him a barely noticeable nudge, but couldn't take back what he said.

"Well, we could take my van." Oz suggested. "It holds…well could hold, around six people. Or more if you squeeze."

"That works. Then we take four and Darla and Angel take Darla's." Giles said and nodded. Xander and Cordelia followed after Giles and Jenny and Darla and Angel went together. The rest of the gang loaded into Oz's van.

"Well you could've mentioned that there are no seats in the back." Buffy mumbled jokingly.

"Just be glad that there's carpet." Oz smiled.

The gang went into the library, where the party was being held, and pretty much stuck together as a group.

"Baby, why don't you get me a drink?" Darla suggested. But it was more of a command then a question. After this all the guys offered to get drinks and left the girls in a group.

"Let's go over near that office where its not as crowded." Willow suggested. So the girls sort of migrated their way over. It was near the drinks so the guys saw them and came over. Darla didn't even drink hers and wasted no time pulling Angel into the stacks. Soon Xander and Cordelia had done the same. So it was left with three pairs.

"This is fairly awkward." Oz observed after a few minutes of silence.

"Yeah. I think we're gonna join them back there." Dawn said and grabbed Connor's hand pulling him back to the back.

"We're just gonna go in this office…if you don't care." Willow said. Buffy winked at her and let Spike put an arm around her waist.

"Wanna go outside?" Buffy suggested. Spike immediately agreed and the couple snaked through the crowd and was relieved to leave the crowded library.

"I can breathe again." Spike joked.

"Not for long." Buffy smiled slyly and pulled him into a kiss. Right then and there the two began making out. Buffy half wished Angel and Darla would come through the doors and see them, but they didn't.

"Buffy. I can't lie to you. I've been feeling guilty for a little while…" Spike said pulling away.

"What is it?" Buffy asked, arms still around him.

"Darla kind of…came on to me earlier. Kissing me and stuff. I pushed her away…well tried…but I could've tried harder. And I'm sorry." Spike said. Buffy smiled, covering guilt of her own.

"It's ok." she said and began kissing him again. She felt him laughing and laughed as well.

The party was finally over and as soon as they got back to the house they all changed into something more comfortable and went downstairs for movies.

Dawn and Cordelia were curled up in a blanket together, Xander next to Cordelia and Connor next to Dawn…but each of them were too 'manly' to share a blanket with anyone. Willow and Oz were snuggled in a blanket together, kissing sometimes, but not as bad as Darla and Angel.  
And Darla and Angel were on a chair, Darla on Angel's lap, making out. The entire time. If you asked them about the movie the most they could tell you was the title and possibly the rating. If they took time to check.

And Buffy and Spike were on the other chair, Spike stroking Buffy's hair and Buffy feeling more and more guilty about the Angel thing.  
"God do they ever come up for air?" Cordelia asked, glancing at Darla and Angel. Dawn suppressed laughter.

Suddenly Darla went upstairs for no apparent reason. Around five minutes later she returned.

Spike left and everyone got ready for bed. Buffy searched frantically through her drawers.

"I can't find them anywhere!" she said to Willow on the verge of hysteria. Downstairs came Dawn's voice.

"BUFFY!"

Cordelia, Buffy, and Willow all rushed down the stairs to see Dawn standing in the kitchen with the freezer door wide open. Darla emerged from the stairs, but no one noticed her, nor did they care.

"I am tramatized." Dawn said as she backed away. And Buffy looked in. And there they were. Every single bra she owned was in the freezer.

"Darla." she growled.

And so the war began…


	17. Chapter 16 Girlfight

Chapter 16- Girlfight

Buffy went to sleep that night, her face flushed with anger and embarrassment. Her bras were hanging around the room, thawing. Thank God Spike had left before all of that happened. But everyone in the house knew about it. Darla had said that 'someone' put all of Buffy's bras in the freezer.' Too bad she was stupid enough to say that. They guys knew it was her because everyone in the house except her was friends with Buffy and would never do something like that to her

She woke up the next morning not feeling much different. But last night she'd been thinking of ways to get back at Darla. _She's gonna pay for this._ Buffy vowed silently as she put her bras away. And she couldn't help but go out in the middle of the night to get a little revenge.

But what she didn't know, was that Darla was planning as well. She was dead set on making the rest of Buffy's life a living nightmare. And with her ideas, she very well could...

Buffy and Willow walked downstairs together. Everyone except Darla was there, either watching TV, eating breakfast or playing with the dogs.

"Happy Fourth of July, sleepyheads." Xander said, grinning.

"It's July fourth?" Willow asked. Xander nodded. "Huh. I didn't even realize it."

Buffy just grunted and padded into the kitchen. Willow sighed and smiled apologetically and went to the kitchen to join Buffy.

"What do you want?" Willow asked, looking through the refridgerator.

"Nothing from the freezer."

"Agreed. How about cereal?" Willow asked.

"Sure." Buffy replied and sat down at the kitchen table. Willow joined her seconds later with two bowls of Lucky Charms and two glasses of orange juice.

"What are you going to do to her?" Willow asked.

Buffy knew good and well what she was talking about..."What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. And I know you, you're not going to let this go- And I don't blame you. I know you've been thinking about it." Willow said, grinning slightly.

Buffy grinned too. "Hmm...I never reveal my secrets. You'll just have to wait and see." She said slyly.

"Oh, come on! The suspense'll kill me!" Willow said, laughing now.

Buffy shrugged. "You'll see..." Both the girls giggled and headed into the living room when they'd finished their breakfast. Darla still wasn't there.

"Hey, do you guys wanna watch the fireworks over the beach tonight?" Cordelia asked. Apparently that's what everyone was talking about when Buffy and Willow were in the kitchen.

"They're supposed to be really good." Dawn added.

"Sure." Willow and Buffy said simultaniously, then giggled.

Darla finally came trudging down the stairs, looking like she'd been run over by a truck the night before.

"Sorry I'm late." Darla said sarcastically. "I couldn't sleep. Someone had music playing loudly all night." She grumbled. "But everytime I looked out the window no one was there."

"I didn't hear anything." Angel said, sounding curious.

Buffy suppressed giggles and just stared at her hands. Willow looked over at Buffy and nudged her. Buffy nodded her head slightly and the two girls tried to hold in their laughter. Last night Buffy went out and placed a portable radio outside on the ground, behind a bush, directly below Darla's window. The volume wasn't turned up high because she didn't want the neighbors getting mad. But the bass was turned up enough to keep Darla awake all night.

Darla glared at Buffy and Willow, who were trying not to smile and giggle. "Whatever, I'm getting breakfast." She left the room and went into the kitchen. Buffy and Willow burst into laughter- Quiet laughter, of course. Darla would hear them if they laughed in a normal tone. Everyone realized it was Buffy who committed the crime against Darla and smiled as well. Even Angel cracked a small smile. But he seemed too distracted to do much else.

Everyone decided to head down to the beach for a little while.

"I can't find my sunscreen." Buffy said as she searched the room for it.

"You can use mine." Willow offered after she finished putting it on herself.

"That's okay. I found it." Buffy said, retrieving the bottle from her suitcase. "I forgot I left it in here..." She applied all over and the girls were ready to go. Willow and Oz walked hand in hand along the shore, occassionally walking in the water or swimming in it.

Dawn, Connor, Cordelia and Connor threw a frisbee around and took turns wading in the water to get it when it fell in.

Darla had pulled Angel down on the beach blanket with her and was furiously making out with him. Then, she decided she was bored and sat up, reapplied sunscreen and layed out on the blanket to tan in her itsy bitsy teenie weenie... _purple_ polka dot bikini...(gotcha... ;) )Angel walked over to where Buffy was sitting by herself with her knees tucked in to her chest and the water coming up, tickling her feet.

"Hey." Angel said, squating down next to her. She didn't respond. Angel could tell she was still upset about what happened at Sadie's yesterday. And he didn't really blame her...He just wished she could forgive him...

Out of nowhere, Buffy said: "I'm thinking of inviting Spike to watch the fireworks with us."

It was Angel's turn to be silent. He nodded, stood up and walked over to Dawn, Connor, Xander and Cordelia to play football with them.

Buffy glanced over at him and noticed that she was getting a sunburn. i That's weird. I just put sunscreen on... /i But she got the bottle from beside her and re-applied it. When Willow and Oz came back, Ox went to play football and Willow went to sit by Buffy, who was still by herself.

"How are you holding up?" Willow asked, nodding to Angel. Buffy just shrugged and Willow stayed off the subject, seeing that her best friend didn't want to talk about it.

"Whoa. Ouch." Willow exclaimed, looking at her sunburnt shoulders and back.

"What?" Buffy inquired.

"You're as red as a lobster. I thought you put sunscreen on." Willow said, clearly confiused.

"I did. I don't know what's up. I just re-applied it." Buffy said.

"Lemme see the bottle." Willow said. Buffy handed her the bottle and she inspected it. She opened it and smelled it. "This definitely isn't sunscreen." She replied.

"What?" Buffy asked, taking the bottle from Willow and smelling it.

"It smells like the coconut hand lotion in the bathroom." Willow said.

"You're right..." Buffy confirmed. She glanced up briefly and saw Darla giggling and looking in their direction.

"That bitch..." Buffy mumbled. "She must've switched it this morning when we were downstairs." Buffy said incredulously.

"That evil thing..." Willow scowled.

"I know! Let her have her moment of pride now. 'Cause I'm gonna get her back for this, don't you worry." Buffy threatened, glaring in Darla's direction. She put on some of Willow's sunscreen. Soon, she and Willow went over to join in the game of football.

Buffy nudged Willow lightly on the shoulder and motioned to Darla who was fast asleep. She and Willow stepped away from the game.

"Come with me for a sec. I know how to get her back." Buffy said, grinning. The two girls looked around in the sand and in the water until they found two very large- very angry- crabs. They walked over to the sleeping Darla. At the same time the girls gently placed the crabs on Darla. One on her stomach and one on her chest.

When the crabs started scuttling around and pinching her, Darla awoke with a jolt...and an ear-piercing scream.

"Get them off, get them off, get them OFF!" She jumped up and started swiping at her stomach and chest even though the crabs had fallen off long ago. Buffy and Willow had backed up into the football game before she woke up. But Darla knew, and shot Buffy an icy glare. Angel came over and Darla grabbed him and hugged him tightly then started making out with him again.

"Oh, goody- i This /i again." Cordelia sighed. "At least that's not me anymore."

The teens stayed on the beach for a short while after that. Darla was complaining that she couldn't stand it in the heat, yet she refused to go in the water. So everyone except Darla went into the pool. Then Darla decided to take a walk around the area.

"Be careful, girls have been going missing around here." Buffy said bitterly, half wishing she would get kidnapped...or even killed. _Whoa...Maybe that's going too far_. She decided. She didn't want her to get killed...Just get hurt alot. But Darla insisted that she would be fine and could find her way back. If not she had her cell phone practically glued to her hip at all times.

So everyone waved goodbye and Darla left.

Once again, Xander was trying to pull Cordelia into the pool and Dawn was trying to protect her. With no avail, of course. Xander pulled her in easily and swam around the pool with her slung over his shoulder. Everyone watched in amusement.

Somewhere in the area...

Darla strutted into a local petstore, knowing exactly what she was looking for. And she found it too. She walked up to the register and placed a fairly large jar on the counter.

"Moths?" The man at the register asked.

"Yeah...I'm gonna feed them to my... parakeet." Darla smiled sweetly, having no idea what she was talking about.

"Okaaaay, good luck with that." The man said as he bagged the jar and handed it to Darla. She stepped outside into the sunshine. She needed to make another stop. To a drug store- Anything would do. So she stopped at the first Wal-Mart she passed and found what she was looking for quickly.

She then went to the 'ten items or less' line and placed the small box on the counter by the cashier. On the screen it read: 'Food Dye'. She paid and left the store quickly.

She wanted to get a salad or something to eat before heading back. i At least I don't have to eat left-over pizza again. That was gross. /i She thought with disgust.

Back at the House

"Mmm, good ol'e left-over pizza." Xander said as he piled slices of pizza on his plate. Everyone was out of the pool and getting pizza, chips and soda for lunch. After that, everyone was dry so they just threw clothes over their bathing suits, because they'd probably be getting wet again. Then they played video games in the basement.

"Ah, The Simpson's Road Rage." Buffy observed as she, Willow and Dawn came down the stairs into the basement. Cordelia was already there, playing the game and sitting next to Xander.

"Wow, this old guy is fast." Cordelia said.

"Hey, it's Ralph." Dawn pointed out, giggling as Ralph said 'Can you take me home? The leprechaun tells me to burn things.' Everyone esle laughed too. Ralph was the best...

Cordelia was good at the game too. She'd made over seven thousand dollars picking people up and dropping them off in the game. She i almost /i made more money than Oz. Almost.

When it was Buffy's turn Angel commented on how good her driving skills were. She never took her eyes of the screen.

"I'm going upstairs to practice." Angel announced, leaving the room.

Darla came into the house without knocking, so no one knew she was back. She slipped into her room to put her purchases someplace safe. Then she grabbed something out of her suitcase- Her poloroid (Thank you, angelsbabigiurl08. lol ;) )camera. Then she walked down the hall into Angel and Connor's room. She stopped momentarily to listen to the rythmic drum beats. Then she barged in with her camera, then seconds later the music stopped abruptly.

Everyone except Darla and Angel headed into the living room to watch a little TV. Eventually Darla and Angel re-appeared and joined everyone esle. Angel smoothed his slightly disheveled hair.

Very soon the teens got bored and started planning out the rest of their day. First, they would walk around all of the little shops down by the beach. Next, they would stop for something to eat, then they would go swimming under the stars until the fireworks started up, so it was a good thing everyone still had their bathing suits on under their clothes.

They were about to head out when Buffy remembered something.

"I need to call Spike." She said, pulling her cell phone out of her purse. She walked through the sliding glass door and out onto the pati to call Spike. A few minutes later she returned.

"Spike's gonna meet us by some of the shops near Sadie's. But he can't stay for the fireworks." Buffy announced.

The teens headed out and coupled up. Dawn with Connor, who was also with Xander to avoid suspicion. Xander was walking hand in hand with Cordelia, as were Willow and Oz. Buffy walked along with Willow, after Willow insisted that she wasn't infringing on the couple's together time. Angel and Darla brought up the rear seeing as Darla wanted to look in every shop because she'd find something 'so cute that she couldn't live without it'. Of course she dragged Angel into these shops with her, so the two were a good ways behind everyone else. But atleast they wouldn't get lost. There was a place Xander suggested they eat at, but it was about 5 miles down the beach, and you could find it just by walking the whole way on the sidewalk they were currently on.

Fifteen minutes into their walk, Buffy spotted Spike leaning up against a shop, waiting for them. She greeted him with a hug and a kiss- And she waited until Angel caught us, just to make sure he saw. He saw, and had to fight to keep his emotion in check.

The group walked for about three hours and looked in shops for about an hour and a half-total. Excluding Darla and Angel. Finally they made it to the place Xander was talking about. It was an old-fashioned burger place called "Johnny Rocket's" Buffy and Dawn immediately liked it, seeing as they had that thing about old-fashioned restaurants... The teens looked at their menus and picked out what they wanted.

Darla looked up from her menu, a look of frustration and disgust on her face. "Everything on this menu has a zillion calories. I'll just get a water." She announced. Everyone just kind of ignored her. Everyone finished eating their food and paid- Which the guys did of course, to be all gentlemanly and such. The Spike had to leave. His band was practicing a few new songs and he needed to be there. So he and Buffy said their goodbyes, with another kiss Buffy made sure Angel saw.

Then the nine remaining teens exited the restaurant just in time to catch a gorgeous sunset.

"Wow." Willow whispered in awe. Oz wrapped his arms around her waist.

"No matter how many times I see this, it i never /i gets old." Cordelia said, repeating what she'd said the second time she watched the sunrise. Sunrise, Sunset- they were both equally beautiful in her mind. And Dawn, who'd witnessed the sunrise and sunset on the beach with Cordelia, agreed.

Xander came up behind Cordelia and hugged her tightly, so she couldn't escape and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "I love you." He whispered.

"I still love you more." Cordelia grinned.

Connor and Dawn stood beside each other awkwardly. Cordelia felt so bad for them, having to hide their relationship and all.

Darla was making out with Angel again, totally ruining the beautiful moment. But everyone ignored them. They were getting pretty good at that actually...

Buffy stood off to the side a little bit, alone. Dawn saw this and walked up to her sister.

"Hi." She said softly.

"Hey." Buffy returned. Even though she hadn't told Dawn about her and Angel, Dawn had enough sense to know what was going on. She moved closer to her sister and they stood together, comforting each other without words. Just knowing the other cared was enough.

"C'mon, let's hit the beach." Xander said. When everyone reached the water's edge the sun was almost set. Everyone stripped their clothes off, and the guys took yet i _another_ /i moment to drool over the girls. Hey, they're guys, what'd ya expect?...

Angel tried not to stare...at Buffy. He wanted her so badly. Maybe she'd forgiven him...

"Hey." Angel tried for the second time that day to confront her. She nodded and smiled a little bit. "So...Have you decided if you're gonna let me out your heart back together?" He asked sincerely. She smiled bigger.

"We'll see." She said slyly, grinning widely now. Angel just encircled his arms around her for a moment, before releasing her and they both ran into the water together. She thought of Spike for a moment, but then looked over at Angel, who was smiling at her and her thoughts of Spike disappeared.

Then Darla came crashing into the water. She waded over to her and Angel. Instead of jumping on Angel, like usual, she just swam around. Then she jumped on Angel. Buffy swam over to where everyone was clustered.

"They're at it again!" Cordelia observed with a hint of disgust in her voice.

Soon, the fireworks started, and Darla and Angel joined the other teens. Xander was right-it was a brilliant, colorful display of lights, bursting in all sorts of different shapes and patterns. It was just another memory that everyone would take with them at the end of the summer. Xander managed to grab his camera out of his pants pocket during the fireworks and snapped a few pictures of them and his friends. The show lasted for about an half an hour. The teens stayed for another half an hour or so in the water, then walked home.

Everyone was glad when they made it home. They were exausted after walking so much and were all ready for bed. But instead of lying down in bed and going to sleep, Buffy was greeted with a horrible sight in her and Willow's room. She shrieked. "Darla!" She shouted angrily. Willow, Cordelia and Dawn rushed upstairs to see what was wrong.

When they saw what Buffy was staring at, they too were angry. There were at least thirty photographs on the floor around Buffy's bed, on her pillows, on and i _in_ /i her suitcase, on her nightstand and even under the covers on Buffy's bed. A closer look at the pictures revealed that ALL of them were of Darla and Angel making out. It showed them in different positions and different angles. (Angel didn't notice her taking the pictures, ot he would've stopped...Can you blame him? he had his eyes closed...)

And so the war continued...


	18. Chapter 17 Secret Kisses

Chapter Seventeen-Secret Kisses

**A/N: I'M SO SORRY! I'm the one in charge of adding all the chapters to this site and I TOTALLY SCREWED UP! For chapter 16(the previous chapter), I submitted chapter 16 along with chapter 18 (oopsie). That's all fixed up, so here's chapter 17. Ahh...the missing link. Lol. Sorry about that, guys...Ozlover**

Another A/N: This chapter was written by Willowzlilsecret.

Last night, Buffy didn't turn on the radio…she had a different plan. She dressed and crept downstairs and out the door before the sun rose. She did a double take and ran back in to get the keys. She went to Darla's convertible and unlocked and pushed the hood down. She put the keys in the ignition and pulled out of the driveway. She drove aimlessly around town until the gas showed 'E'. She had barely any gas left and she returned home and went to back to sleep just as the sun started peeking out from behind the ocean, she slept well feeling satisfied.

Oz and Willow were the first awake, as usual, and sat down in front of the TV.

"Willow and Oz private time." Oz murmured, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Yay." Willow smiled. She put her arms around Oz's neck and kissed him. He greeted her happily and put his hands on her waist, pulling her closer. She let his tongue slip into her mouth and she began running her hands through his spiky brown hair. He pulled away and began kissing her neck. She sighed in contentment.

"Look at you lovebirds." said Xander from behind them.

"Xander!" Willow exclaimed in shock as she jumped away from Oz. The embarrassment of being caught making out was bad enough, but by your cousin? "You're never gonna let me live this down are you?"

"Shy little Willow takes on bold sexual gestures." Xander joked. Willow's face turned bright red and she went quickly into the kitchen.

"I'm just making some coffee." she called. Xander and Oz shrugged at each other and turned on the news. It was the usual, missing girl, yadda, yadda, yadda. So far they had around seven suspects, but no 'for sure's.

Soon they were joined by Angel, Cordelia, and Dawn. Angel took a seat next to Xander, and Cordelia and Dawn curled up together on the loveseat.

Connor and Buffy appeared soon after. Buffy went into the kitchen with Willow and Connor sat on the big armchair.

"Why are you in here all alone?" Buffy asked as she saw Willow sitting at the table with some cereal.

"Xander caught me making out with Oz." Willow said, sounding mortified.

"That's not so bad. I mean, remember when he and Cordelia were like Angel and Darla?" Buffy asked.

"But its different. See, Xander is practically known to be lusting after girls, but I'm…you know me, Buff. I haven't ever gone out with a single guy my entire life! I'm innocent bookworm gal." Willow explained.

"We've all changed a lot this summer." Buffy pointed out. Willow nodded and stood up.

"I'm heading back in, are you coming with?" Willow asked.

"Help me with something?" Buffy asked.

"Sure." Willow replied.

Buffy looked around and then glanced at the coffee pot. There was just enough for one person. And since Darla was the last one, her plan should work perfectly. The rest of the group was in the living room, or up in the shower. She pulled out some of Giles's medicine. Oh yeah, you guessed it. Laxatives. She dumped some in the coffee pot and went into the living room, where she plopped down next to her sister and Cordelia.

Darla bounced down the stairs, seeing as how she had no radio disturbances the night before. She cleared her throat as she walked by and Angel gave a hearty "G'morning, honey."

She stumbled into the kitchen and pulled a mug out of the cabinet. She poured the remaining coffee in and drank it quickly. She returned to the living room just as Willow came out of the shower.

"We should go swimming." Buffy suggested. Everyone agreed and went up to their rooms to change.

Minutes later the gang was out at the pool. Darla, being her usual self, was lounging in the hot tub with some lemonade and a 'Teen People' magazine.

"Angel!" she called out. He knew exactly what she wanted. He sighed, got out of the pool, and joined her in the hot tub. "What a good doggie. Didn't make me ask twice."

He splashed in, getting her hair wet, this won him an evil look. He smiled sheepishly and put an arm around her. Buffy glanced over at the two then smiled secretively as she waited for the medicine to kick in.

Angel and Darla began kissing and suddenly Darla stood up.

"What is it, baby?" Angel asked, looking at her confused.

"I just…remembered that I forgot something." she said quickly and practically fell out of the hot tub. She quickly ran inside. Buffy let her laughter out.

"Ok, Buff, what'd you do?" Connor asked from the other side of the pool. He was sitting with his legs dangling in and his arm around Dawn.

"Oh, nothing." she said as she stood up.

"Where are you going?" Cordelia asked from her lawn chair.

"No where." Buffy answered as she went over to the hot tub and joined Angel. She winked at him and then turned her attention back to the others. Soon Oz and Willow joined them in the hot tub as well. And then Xander.

Darla stomped out to the deck.

"SUMMERS!" she growled.

Darla stormed out of the house angrily with Angel in tow. She sat down in the driver's seat and he sat in the passenger seat. She put the key in the ignition and tried to start the car. It wouldn't start. She tried again.

"Babe, we're out of gas." Angel pointed out. She screamed and just sat in the car. He pulled her over into his lap. He brushed the hair away from her face.

"It's okay, baby." he said and stroked her cheek.

"I hate her." Darla said, angry tears swelling in her eyes.

"I know." Angel said quietly. He kissed her on the lips.

Buffy watched from a window as her plan turned on her. She growled. She would get Darla for this.

She opened her cell and dialed Spike's number. She asked him over and he immediately agreed. She went back to the group and they all lounged on the couch trying to decide what was on for the day. Dawn and Connor were sitting together on a chair, kissing every now and then and were stroking each other's hair and face. (Yeah, in case you didn't figure it out, they very recently decided to be out with it.) Darla and Angel were sitting, amazingly, like normal people. Darla was still very mad about what had happened, and Angel was doing his best to be there for her. Buffy and Xander were sitting on the loveseat, with Buffy sitting and Xander with his lying down with his legs slung over her. Cordelia, Willow, and Oz were all sitting on the other couch.

"What should we do today?" Cordelia asked, looking at Willow.

"I dunno," she turned to Oz, "What do you wanna do today?" He shrugged and turned to Buffy.

"What do you wanna do?"

"I dunno." she said, raising her eyebrows. She looked over at Xander, "You?"

"Dunno…Angel?" Xander said simply.

"Uh, it really doesn't matter…and we aren't getting anywhere with this, so if anyone has an idea, just speak up." Angel said, his arm around Darla. She nodded and slipped her arms around his waist.

"How bout ice cream?" Dawn asked suddenly.

"Yeah, me and Dawn went to this really cute old fashioned place." Connor suggested. Buffy perked up at this.

"Old-fashioned?" Everyone laughed and she slumped back, rolling her eyes.

Xander swung his legs off of Buffy's lap and started to stand, "Well, what are we waiting for?"

"Spike." Buffy answered, firmly. She saw about three different reactions. Angel: annoyance. Darla: lust? and then there was everyone else's reaction of, ok.

The grouped only waited around five more minutes before the bell rang. Jenny went running down the stairs, seemingly appearing from nowhere. She and Buffy ran smack into each other, heading for the door.

"Oh, I'm sorry Bunny, I just have a meeting and the car pool is coming to pick me up. Some stupid thing. I should be on vacation! It's a town meeting. Something about the noisiness of teens." Jenny explained and opened the door as she continued trying to put a pearl earring in.

" 'ello." he said, smiling. It was Spike. Buffy pushed past Jenny and wrapped her arms around him in a huge hug.

"Oh. Well." Jenny stuttered and went back up to her room.

"Come on in. Or actually, no need. We're going for ice cream." Buffy smiled then turned back to the living room. "Come on guys! Let's go." The group stampeded out and they started down towards the town. Willow and Oz walked hand in hand, Xander walked with his arm around Cordelia, Connor was giving Dawn a piggy-back ride half the time, and both Buffy and Spike and Darla and Angel were walking with their arms wrapped around their boyfriends (or girlfriends) kissing every so often.

"Here it is!" Dawn said, pointing ahead. She hopped off of Connor's back and grasped his hand. The two were the first in the shop. Followed by Willow, Oz, Cordelia, and Xander.

"I have to go to the bathroom. Wait for me." Darla said, heading towards the restroom. Buffy pulled Spike to a stopped and began making out with him, right in Angel's face. His expression took on one of fury and annoyance, and he crossed his arms, tempted to begin tapping his foot. Spike pulled his lips from Buffy's but kept his forehead touching hers and looked at Angel.

"Got a problem, Peaches?" he asked. Angel held back the urge to hit him.

"Don't. Call. Me. That." he said through gritted teeth. Spike shrugged and went back to kissing Buffy.

"Well, I have to go to the bathroom myself." he said after a moment and walked off leaving Angel and Buffy alone.

"What's your problem?" Buffy asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"My problem? If there's anyone with a problem here, its gonna be you." he shot back.

"Why do I have a problem? You're just mad because of Spike. Well, news flash, you have a girlfriend, so stop worrying about everyone else's." she retorted.

"What's wrong with you? Yesterday you were so…But now, I really don't know what I did." Angel said softly. Buffy sighed and stepped closer to him.

"It just pissed me off." she said, as if that explained everything.

"What did?" Angel asked, sounding rather confused.

"My whole evil plan turning on me. All that. It ending up with you and Darla making out in her car." Buffy sighed, looking down.

"That's why you've been so mean?" he asked incredulously. She wouldn't look at him. He stepped forward and cupped her chin in his hand. "Listen, I told you that I would love you if you let me. And I was telling the truth." She looked with tearful eyes. He leaned in and kissed her softly, hoping upon hope that Darla wouldn't come out. She slipped her arms around his neck, and began kissing him as well. He moved his hands down to her waist. Suddenly she pulled away.

"We can't…I mean…Darla and-and Spike." Buffy murmured, letting go of him. He did the same and they stepped away from each other. Both Spike and Darla emerged from the bathroom at the same time and the four walked into the shop.

"Mmm, what took you guys so long?" Willow asked, after taking a lick of her ice cream. She, Oz, Xander, Cordelia, Dawn, and Connor were all crowded in a booth, the girls sitting on their boyfriend's laps.

"Some of us had to take bathroom breaks." Angel explained as they walked up to the ice cream. They ordered and sat down at the table directly next to the booth.

"What are we doing after this?" Dawn asked. She was sipping on a milk shake.

"I dunno, its almost five. We could head home and go down to the beach, or into the pool." Cordelia suggested. Everyone agreed, finished their ice cream, and started home.

Buffy and Spike were lounging in the shallow end of the pool, along with Dawn and Cordelia. Xander, Connor, Willow, and Oz were all doing different dives and flips into the pool and judging who was best. Or rather Willow and Oz were judging and Connor and Xander were flipping. And of course Darla and Angel were in the hot tub, making out.

"Ooh! I know what we should do!" Cordelia squealed.

"Hmm?" Dawn asked, leaning her head on Cordelia's  
shoulder to look at her.

"We should get that net from downstairs and play water volleyball. Girls versus boys." Cordelia answered. Dawn smiled and agreed. They threw out the idea to the rest of the gang and the boys went to set up the net. The girls were stuck with the job of finding the volleyball. Around half an hour later they were set up and started playing.

"Darla get the ball!" Willow yelled. Darla looked up from where she was standing waist deep in the pool. She side-stepped the ball and it hit the water next to her.

"Oops." she shrugged. She looked back down at her nails. Buffy shot Willow a look and Willow shrugged.

"Wow, you guys really aren't the best volleyball players." Connor observed as they dried off and went inside to order pizza.

"Well a fifth of our team was elsewhere." Buffy defended shooting an icy glare at Darla who was now making out with Angel, again.

"What are we doing now?" Dawn asked.

"Well, eating and then probably movies." Connor answered as he opened the door. The sisters walked in and then him.

"As in going to the movies?" Buffy asked, pulling her hair out of the ponytail.

"Yep. Pizza then movies. Fun huh." Connor confirmed. He slipped his arm around Dawn's waist and the two walked away together, leaving Buffy alone. She felt arms slip around her waist.

"Spike." Buffy whispered.

"Not Spike." Angel said in her ear. She spun around.

"Wh-What? Where's Darla, a-and Spike?" Buffy asked looking around. They were nowhere to be seen, as well as the rest of the teens.

"We're alone." Angel answered, stroking her hair.

"Where'd they go?" Buffy asked.

"It doesn't matter." Angel answered and pulled her in for a kiss. Suddenly…

"Buffy, pet…'ello? Anyone in there?" Spike asked, waving a hand in front of her face. Buffy shook her head realizing she had been daydreaming.

"Yeah. Buffy is in here. All not day dreamy anymore." she assured and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Yeah, now for pizza." Spike said smiling. The two went up and joined the rest of the gang at the table.

They had already ordered the pizza and since they  
lived so close it should be there very soon. Minutes later the door bell rang. Willow and Oz answered it and brought back three large pizzas.

"Yum!" Dawn said and grabbed a stack of plates from the cabinet. As soon as the boxes hit the table, two pizzas were gone. The third one disappeared soon after.

"So…movies?" Buffy smiled.

Buffy and Willow were in their room getting ready.

"Willow…" Buffy started.

"Yeah?" Willow asked, heading towards the closet.

"I-It happened again. We kissed. Me and Angel. And this time, Spike…Darla could've- they were literally less then three yards away." Buffy said.

"Ok, is this yay?" Willow asked and opened the closet. She never got an answer.

"Damn." Buffy said, inspecting the damage. Moths. Everywhere. Their clothes had little holes in them, and obviously the bugs obviously hadn't been there for very long.

"Darla." Willow observed.

"This one is gonna come back to bite her in the butt."

The group went to the movies and went home. Spike left and they went to bed.


	19. Chapter 18 Love Just Is

Chapter 18-Love Just Is

A/N: This chapter was written by Ozlover

"Morning, Will." Buffy mumbled when Willow got out of bed.

"Morning." Willow said, smiling.

"What time is it?" Buffy asked, turning over in bed to face her best friend.

"About six." Was the answer.

"Six? As in morning six?" Buffy asked. Willow nodded.

"Argh...I can't believe I'm awake this early." Buffy grumbled.

"Did you happen to dream about Fanta?" Willow asked suddenly.

"Yeah, How'd ya know?"

"Just a wild guess..." She trailed off. Buffy gave her a look. "Well, you were kinda saying that Fanta was fruit that bubbles...But in your sleep."

"You really need to wake me up when I do that." Buffy said, grinning.

"If I did that you wouldn't get a wink of sleep." Willow replied, smiling as well.

"I do it that much?" Buffy asked. Willow nodded.

"Did you dream of anything else in particular? Besides Fanta, I mean." Willow asked, curious. She went over to sit on Buffy's bed.

"Well...I was on a date with Spike at some fancy restaurant and we were all dressed up except I was one of those Fanta girls, from the commercial...And then Angel and Darla came and Darla was a Fanta girl too." Willow nodded, signaling for her to continue. "I was dressed in purple and her in yellow...And then we jumped up on a table and started fighting with those giant q-tip things." Buffy concluded. Willow burst into giggles, soon followed by Buffy. The girls got off of the bed and got dressed.

Buffy had to pick something to wear from her suitcase because of the damage done by the moths to her other clothes. She wore a lavender baby tee that read Hollister across the front in black and a black denim mini-skirt. She had black flip-flops to go with it. Willow put on a white babydoll top that had light blue flowers in varoius places. She also had on denim shorts and white flip-flops.

"I wonder if Oz is awake..." Willow thought aloud. The girls were up unusually early.

"Probably...Why?" Buffy grinned slyly.

Willow blushed. "N-no reason..."

"Cuz if he _is_ down there- alone, I could just...Go in the kitchen...Eat some Lucky Charms...I'll do my best to ignore the noises." Buffy's grin widened. Willow's blush deepened.

"Shut up." Willow mumbled. There was a silence. "I was thinking alot last night- about Oz, and I think...Well, I think that I love him" Willow stammered. Buffy squealed happily.

"Aww, you guys are soo cute!" Buffy smiled.She glanced over at Willow, who was frowning. "What's wrong?" She aksed.

"Well, the thing is...I don't know how to tell him. And I don't know if he feels the same way, 'cause if I tell him and he doesn't love me back I might die o-or run away or something." Willow said, making wild hand gestures. Buffy reached over and stilled her hand.

"Don't worry about it. You have to let it happen on it's own. And when it does, he'll feel the same way." Buffy said reasurringly.

"Promise?" Willow asked.

"I promise." Buffy confirmed. She let her eyes wander to her nighstand, which had a jar sitting on it. The night before Willow helped Buffy catch some of the moths that were in her closet.

The girls headed into the hallway the same time Cordelia and Dawn did. Cordelia was wearing an indigo halter top and a denim, pleated mini-skirt. Dawn had on a thin, flowery white skirt that went to a little bit above her knees and a pink tank top that gathered at the top.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs they were greeted by Oz and Xander, who were sitting on the couch, watching TV. There was something on about another rapist being in the area, and another girl gone missing.

The girls went into the kitchen for breakfast.

"Lucky Charms. Be still my heart." Dawn joked as she pulled the box of cereal out of the cabinet.

"We really need more of a selection." Willow agreed.

Dawn opened the refridgerator. "Hey. We have Jell-o.Or...Remains of Jell-o. Looks like someone got to it last night." Dawn observed.

"When did we get Jell-o?" Cordelia asked. Dawn shrugged, grabbed a gallon container of milk and closed the fridge.

"Does anyone else want Lucky Charms?" Buffy called into the living room. She was answered with 'no's and 'no thanks'. She realized that Connor had joined them on the couch. Darla was the next teen to come downstairs.

"You're making breakfast?" Darla asked Buffy. Without waiting for her response she said: "Well, I'll have a cheese and ham omlet, bacon, a pancake a glass of milk."

There was an odd silence.

Buffy pulled out the box of cereal. "Oh, sorry. Fresh outta everything. I hope this is okay." Buffy sneered at her. Willow took her by the arm and dragged her out of the kitchen before she and Darla got into a fight. Buffy just grinned sheepishly. Everyone was watching The Top 20 Countdown on VH1. Angel came down the stairs about half an hour later. Everyone was still watching TV.

At about 9:00 AM Jenny came through the front door along with Giles, who was looking considerably grumpy.

"Hey Mom. Uh, where were you guys?" Xander asked the question that was on everyone's minds.

"Well, we were out...And we just happened to come across something we thought you kids might enjoy." Jenny answered with a sly grin. Then teens exchanged glances. Except for Darla, who was inspecting her nails.

"What is it?" Buffy asked, when the suspense finally got to her.

"Go outside and see for yourself." Jenny smiled widely as all of the teens jumped up from the couch and ran towards the door. She and Giles followed them out.

"Holy shit!" Xander exclaimed excitedly when he saw. Jenny smacked him in the back of his head for using that language. "Crap, I mean." He said sheepishly.

Sitting right there in the front yard were -not one- but _two_ brand new Kawasaki jet skis. One was green, black and white. The other aqua and black. There were scattered 'whoas' and 'wows' and 'thank yous'.

"You better like them." Giles mumbled. "We spent a bloody fortune..." Jenny just smiled sweetly at him, knowing that he was secretly glad to have them. She knew he'd always wanted one.

Xander and Oz carried one jet ski out back and Angel and Connor carried the other.

"Sweet Mother of God, that thing is heavy." Xander panted. The other three guys agreed.

"Does anybody here know how to drive one?" Buffy asked...Silence...

"It can't be _that_ hard..." Xander said. No one volunteered to try it first, so..."Fine. I'll go figure it out." Xander said as he walked over to the green. black and white jet ski. Angel helped him push it into the water. Xander patted the back sat, motioning for Cordelia to join him.

"Are you kidding?" Cordelia asked incredulously. "You've never driven one of these things before. What if you kill me!"

Xander sighed. "Don't worry about me, honey. I'll be just fine." He said sarcastically. Cordelia rolled her eyes, walked up to the jet ski and sat down on the black, cushioned seat behind Xander.

"If you kill me on this thing I'm gonna be really pissed." Cordelia warned. When Xander started the thing up, Cordelia jumped and held on to him tightly.

"Don't worry. Just hold on and you'll be fine." Xander said over the rumbling noises. Cordelia nodded meekly and held on tighter. Soon they were off. They only tipped over once, and the other teens could hear Cordelia screaming about her clothes from their place on the beach.

But surprisingly, it wasn't all that hard to figure out. (To people who actually have driven one of these:if it IS hard to figure out- Sorry, I've never driven one before...Please have mercy!)

When Xander steered it back to shore, he taught everyone else how to work it. To avoid anymore wet clothes incidents, everyone went back to the house to change into their bathing suits.

When they got back outside Darla made Angel take her on one of the jet skis. Oz drove Willow around on the other one. Then Xander and Cordelia went and so did Connor and Dawn. Angel offered to give Buffy a ride a few times, and she accepted, only to have Angel be dragged off by Darla and yelled at. So Xander gave Buffy a ride. Everyone switched off for a while, and the girls all drove together for a little while. Needless to say they were entertained for hours.

When they went back to the house arounf noon for lunch, Connor found a note on the refrigerator from Jenny saying that she and Giles would be gone until later that evening and for them to order a big lunch from somewhere because it would be their dinner as well.

"How about Chinese?" Xander joked.

"NO!" Was the reply from everyone.

They eventually decided on Mexican take-out.

"The restaurant is a good ways away from here and they won't deliver it to our house." Xander explained.

"Angel and I can go get it." Darla volunteered, much to everyone's surprise. Buffy grinned to herself. With Darla gone for a while she could execute her plans...

Everyone wrote down their orders, added extra stuff in for dinner, gave the list to Darla and Angel, and they were off. The other teens were outside at the pool. Cordelia was tanning and Buffy, Willow, Dawn, Connor, Oz and Xander were in the pool. Oz and Connor were chasing their girlfriends around, and Xander was chasing Buffy. Cordelia decided that she was bored and joined them in the pool. When she did, the teens set up the net across the pool and played volleyball- girls vs. boys. That ended when Xander was a sore loser and jumped on the volleyball net, tangling himself up in it. Then he commenced chasing all the girls, looking ridiculous in the hot pink volleyball net.

The seven teens began to worry when Angel and Darla didn't show up. They'd been gone for an hour and a half. The Mexican place was about twenty minutes away.(Yet they still wouldn't deliver to the house...tsk tsk tsk...)

This was good news to Buffy, who slunk upstairs while everyone else was playing video games in the basement. She stopped and her and Willow's room first and got the jar of moths and a bowl of something. She sneaked into Darla's room and was in there for about five minutes. She sat down on the floor in the basement next to Cordelia just in time for Darla to open the basement door and yell: "Food's here!"

"Jeez, what took you guys so long?" Xander asked when he and everyone else was in the kitchen, getting food and drinks.

"We got a little lost." Angel said, not looking at Xander. Xander could tell by Angel's messy hair and rumpled clothes that that was a lie.

"Sure you did." Xander said, grinning slyly. Angel returned the smile.

After they ate, the teens decided what to do for the rest of the day.

"I need to go to the mall." Buffy said. "Last night, moths somehow managed to get into my closet and now I have itty-bitty holes in most of my clothes." She said bitterly, glaring at Darla, who just ignored her gaze. All of the girls, including Darla were going to the mall with Buffy. The guys said that they needed to practice their instruments more, even though all of the girls insisted that they sounded great. Since Jenny and Giles were gone, they could use amps, which was a plus.

Everyone said their goodbyes and the girls were about to leave when Darla realized that she had the 'totally wrong shoes for her outfit' and rushed upstairs to find her black, leather boots. She saw them right where she left them-next to her bed. She slipped out of her other shoes, but when she slid her feet into her boots, she got a big shock. She tried to shake the boots off of her feet to no avail. She ended up tripping and falling onto the floor. She screamed and pulled the boots off of her feet. There was green slimy chunks of something falling out of her shoes and stuck to her feet. It sorta looked like...

"BUFFY!"

...Green Jell-o.

She would get Buffy back later. Now she needed a pair of shoes to put on. She opened her closet and a swarm of moths flew out. Alot of her clothes had little holes in them (A/N: Now, I'm fairly sure that moths don't eat clothes that quickly...Just pretend...)

Darla was furious. How dare she turn her own prank against her! She stomped angrily , her face turning red. It was safe to say that she'd never been angrier in her life. She wiped her feet off on the carpet, put on a different pair of boots and stomped downstairs, leaving the mess behind for later.

"Good thing we're going to the mall." Darla spat, while glaring at Buffy. "'Cause I'm having a moth problem in my closet too." She stormed out of the house, got into her spotrs car and sped off towards the mall without a word.

Buffy tried not to laugh. "Bye!" She called as she rushed to the door, followed by three other giggling girls.

"Women." Xander sighed. He and the other guys started to set up their instruments.

The girls giggled all the way to the mall.

"So _that's_ where all the Jell-o went." Dawn observed with a smile.

When Cordelia pulled into the mall parking lot the girls spotted Darla's car, which they parked very far away from.

While in the mall, they only ran into Darla once or twice. If they sw her in a store, they'd turn around and go in later. In American Eagle, Buffy was trying on a bunch of clothes.

"I like these." Buffy said, admiring herself in a new pair of short khaki shorts.

"Your butt looks hot." Cordelia agreed and all the girls giggled some more.

"You know, this turned out okay." Buffy replied.

"What do you mean?" Willow asked.

"This. With the moths eating my stuff. Because it's fun to go shopping...And it's fun to watch Darla bustle around the mall all angry looking...And it's a really good way to spend time with my best friends." She told them sincerely. All the girls smiled and Buffy went back into the changing room.

"Here, I got more stuff for you to try on." Willow said, hanging more clothes over the fitting room door.

"Thanks, Wil. Aw, this is soo cute!" She said as she looked over a denim mini-skirt Willow gave her to try on.

"Oh, great." Buffy heard Cordelia say...Well, groan was more like it.

"What's wrong?' Buffy asked.

"Darla's here." Dawn observed, putting emphasis on the word 'Darla'. Buffy poked her head out of the stall and sure enough, there she was, pawing through bathing suits and underwear.

"Ugh. I'll try this stuff on quickly so we can get outta here." Buffy said as she closed the stall door.

" Maybe she'll leave...And we can stay. We'll be looking for more clothes, mmkay?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah."

After the three girls left, Darla strutted into the fitting room area with an armload of stringy, tiny clothes. There was no assistant nearby, so she took the liberty of finding a stall herself. There were a few other people standing around waiting for a stall, but Darla pushed past them. She recognized Buffy's shoes in one of the stalls and grinned evilly. Suddenly, she ripped open the door to reveal Buffy standing there in a skirt and a bra.(Buffy had forgotten to lock the door because she was constantly coming out of the stall to show her friends the clothes she was trying on)

"Oops, I thought it was empty." Darla replied innocently. Buffy made an angry grunting noise and slammed the door shut in her face and locked it. Darla just smiled and went into another stall.

Buffy tried on the rest of the clothes she had in the stall with her and went to find her friends. She ended up buying two shirts, a denim mini-skirt, a white ruffled mini-skirt with pink flowers, a pair of khaki shorts and a pink belt.

"On to the next store!" Cordelia announced, as all the girls linked arms.

The went to Pacsun and Hollister, finding everything they needed there. The other girls bought some new clothes as well. They stopped for ice cream on the way home from the mall and made it home about the same time Darla did. Darla got Angel to help her lug her all of her shopping bags upstairs into her room.

"Now what do you wanna do?" Xander asked, directing the question at anyone who had an idea...Silence...

"We could just walk on the beach or whatever." Dawn suggested. Everyone agreed, seeing as they were at a loss of ideas. And since everyone still had their bathing suits on they could swim if they wanted to.

As soon as they got on the beach, they coupled up. leaving Buffy all alone. She thought about calling Spike, then decided not to. He was probably practicing with his band or something. She didn't mind being alone for a little while. She needed to think on some things anyway.

Connor and Dawn immediately stripped down to their bathing suits and went into the ocean. The sun was in the process of setting, making the ocean glow beautifully.

Darla and Angel walked alongside the beach until Darla spotted a little tent used for changing and she dragged Angel in with her.

Xander and Cordelia walked hand-in-hand at the water's edge for awhile, then spotted a small beach shack that was selling surf-boards and shell jewlery and they decided to stop and look.

Buffy sat on the shore, with her knees tucked in to her chest, letting the water come up to her feet, then retreat back, then come back to her feet, over and over. Not that she was paying any attention to that. Her mind was on other things...Like her complicated love life.

Willow and Oz sat down on a wall that over looked the ocean. If they wanted to they could jump down and land right in the water.

0000

Dawn and Connor were making out in the water, trying to stay afloat when a huge wave ripped them apart.

Dawn just laughed and sorta choked at the same time. They just picked up right where they left off.

Darla and Darla finally emerged from the tent, their clothes and hair looking disheveled. A crowd of people had gathered outside the tent, wanting to change. The two just ignored their angry glares and walked in the opposite direction.

Xander bought a sea-shell necklace for Cordelia, which they promised the cashier they'd pick up later- after they swam for a little while.

Buffy sat, enjoying the sound of the waves crashing and sea gulls cawing when she heard her name being called from somewhere. In a sexy Britsh accent too. No, not like Giles'...

Buffy turned around to see Spike jogging toward her.

"Hey." Spike said when he got his breath.

"Hey." Buffy returned softly.

"What's wrong?" Spike asked, immediately sensing that something was up with his girlfriend.

"Nothing." Buffy lied.

"You can tell me." Spike told her sincerely.

"Well...It's just..." Buffy trailed off, avoiding his gaze. She could see Spike nod out of the corber of her eye, wanting her to continue. "I just kinda want to be alone...I need to think about some stuff." Buffy said honestly.

"Oh. Okay." Spike said, trying not to sound hurt.

"I'm sorry."

"No, no it's okay, I understand." Spike said, standing up and brushing sand off himself. "Well, I'll see you around then."

Buffy nodded. "Bye."

"Bye, luv."

Then he was gone. Buffy felt tears stinging her eyes. But she wouldn't let them fall. She just continued to sit silently, giving in to the sounds of the waves crashing on the shore.

Willow and Oz also sat in silence for a while.

"It's beautiful." Willow commented on the now almost set sun.

"I know." Oz said, looking over at her. She turned to face him and smiled sweetly. Out of nowhere, Oz leaned over and pulled her into a hug. Willow realized how perfectly she fit in his arms- Which was where she wanted to stay. Forever.

God, she wanted to tell him how she felt so badly. It felt like the right time, so...

"I wanna tell you something." Willow and Oz said simultaniously. They both smiled.

"You go first." Oz told her.

Willow gulped silently, regretting bringing this up. "Well, Oz, I've been t-thinking...About us a-and stuff..." She studdered, blushing a little. Oz nudged her gently, wanting her to continue. "Well...I...I love you, Oz." She finished, refusing to look him in the eye.

"Wow." Oz whispered. Willow looked up with questioning eyes. "Oh, that's what I was gonna say." He explained with a soft smile.

"Really?" Willow asked, amazed that he felt the same way.

"Really." Oz confirmed. The two leaned in and kissed passionately. Needless to say, Buffy was right about the whole 'I love you' thing.

00000000

About a half hour after the sun set, the teens met up and swam in the ocean for awhile, then decided it would be more fun to swim in the pool after midnight, so they went back to the house. (After Xander and Cordelia made a quick stop to pick up Cordelia's necklace they had left at the shack) The guys played video games while the girls touched up on their nails. Darla had to clean the green stains out of the carpet in her room.

All of the girls except Darla went down to the basement to watch a movie with the guys.

"Let's watch The Little Mermaid." Dawn joked as she and the other girls looked through Xander's collection of movies and DVD's. The girls giggled.

"Let's not." Xander said.

"Aw, is Xander embarrassed or having a little girl movie?" Cordelia asked in a baby voice.

"No." Xander said defensively, crossing his arms.

"Why do you even have this movie?" Dawn asked. Xander didn't answer.

"Hey, Ariel was pretty hot. I bet that's why Xander has it." Angel grinned, coming to Xander's rescue.

"Yeah, that's it." Xander replied.

The girls exchanged glances and started giggling again. They ended up watching War of the Worlds (the older version), which got all the guys pumped up. The guys all grabbed their girlfriends, (Xander was able to carry Buffy as well as Cordelia) carried them out to the pool and thew them in with their clothes on over their bathing suits.

Darla got pissed, stomped out of the pool and sprawled out on a beach chair to dry. Everyone else had a blast splashing and chasing each other in the water. That lasted for about two hours. By then, everyone was exausted and headed up to their rooms to get some sleep.


	20. Chapter 19 Get On the Banana Boat

**A/N: This chapter was written by Willowzlilsecret **

**ANOTHER A/N: Wow..I'm soooo incredibly sorry for not updating..This isn't the usual site I update this story at and I kind of just pushed it aside on my lists of things to do (I feel terrible) and for a while I'd tried to update but my slow dial-up screwed up the uploading stuff...But now I have DSL and the next ten or so chapters should be coming up reeeally quickly (if all the reviewers havent deserted us..) because they're already written. Again, I'm soo sorry and hopefully we still have someloyal reviewers that don't hate us (or..me rather, cuz I'm in charge of updating lol) --Ozlover**

Chapter Nineteen- Get on the boat…the banana boat

Willow was up early the next morning and was greeted by Giles and Jenny in the kitchen. As she rounded the corner she unconsciously eavesdropped in on the conversation.

"Giles! It's dangerous! You don't know what…It's just…I mean…" Jenny tried.

"I know, but I have to do this. It's my job, and I know this is supposed to be our vacation! But I really cannot just say no when these people are in danger!" Giles shot back.

"I'm aware. But I'm just worried about you." Jenny said softly. Willow heard footsteps approaching and retreated into the shadows. Giles left the room and then went outside. She heard the car starting up and driving away. She waited a couple of minutes and then went into the kitchen with her aunt.

"Hey Aunt Jenny." Willow said softly.

"Hi Willow." Jenny said and stood up to make some coffee. As soon as the coffee was made she left and Willow was left alone. Moments later she was joined by Oz.

"What time is it?" he asked absently.

"Seven." Willow answered after glancing at the microwave clock. She stood up and wrapped her arms around Oz, trying to forget what she heard. She didn't understand it, she didn't want to understand it, she just wanted to feel safe. Oz slipped his arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck.

"What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

"Nothing. It's really. Nothing." Willow answered, more to assure herself then him.

"Ok." Oz knew not to push. "What are we doing today?"

"Uh, Jenny wanted us to use our jet skis a little so she said that we could go down to the bay. They have this banana boat ride, and like a lot of space for wave runners." Willow explained then pecked him on the cheek and pulled out of his embrace.

"Sounds fun. When do we go?" Oz asked.

"Hmm… later. A lot later. We have other stuff to do. Like go out on Uncle Giles's boat." Willow explained as she got some cereal.

"Finally. Do we get to fish?"

"Sure, if you want to." Willow answered. Jenny re-emerged in the kitchen looking tired and worried. She grabbed a cup of coffee and left again. Willow and Oz shrugged to each other and ate breakfast.

About an hour later they went into the living room and switched on the TV. Willow settled in Oz's lap and soon fell asleep. He smiled softly and stroked her auburn hair. Soon after, he too fell asleep.

Quite a while later the rest of the group came down, one by one until everyone but Darla was downstairs. Buffy whispered something to Willow who nodded and they both went upstairs.

"Who else finds this ongoing war amusing?" Xander asked. Connor, Cordelia, Dawn, Angel, Oz, and himself all raised their hands. "Just had to make sure I wasn't the only one."

Darla locked the door and started the shower for the daily morning routine. She pulled her hair out of the ponytail that she slept in and brushed through it. Then she brushed her teeth and put all kinds of pimple reducer and the like on. Then she went into the shower. Now while she was in there, she got a brilliant idea. Dye. She pulled some dye she had gotten while moth shopping from her bag. She opened Buffy's shampoo and poured a generous amount in and closed the bottle. She finished her shower with the satisfaction of getting back at Buffy.

Meanwhile

The lock clicked and moments later the shower started. Buffy left Willow to stand guard and she slowly crept to Darla's room. She opened her plastic bag and went through all the drawers, removing underwear, bras, and bathing suits. She put them all in the bag and ran downstairs to the pool. She padded quietly behind the guys who were all watching TV. She opened the sliding glass door and went out onto the deck. She started at the deep end and began throwing the underclothes into the water. She continued until they were all in the pool. Willow came rushing out.

"Buffy! She's done! She's coming out soon!" Willow warned. Buffy shoved the bag into her pocket and rushed inside and flung herself down on the couch next to Xander. Willow perched on Oz's lap.

"What're you girls up to?" Xander asked, looking at Buffy. She was trying so hard not to laugh from glee and almost getting caught. Her face was bright red. She heard the bathroom door open upstairs and calmed herself down. Moments later a blood-curdling scream broke the air. Willow and Buffy did all they could not to burst into laughter. The two ran up to their rooms and began laughing wildly, tears running from their eyes.

Darla stomped by their door and they emerged, to see what she would do. She went down the stairs in her robe and went up to Angel.

"Honey, have you seen my underwear?" she asked sweetly. This sent Xander and Connor into hysterical laughter as well. Oz even chuckled softly. Angel turned red in embarrassment, but smiled as he realized that's what Buffy and Willow were doing. He shrugged and she stomped back upstairs.

Willow and Buffy emerged and joined the group who were all talking about the plans for today.

"I'm inviting Spike." Buffy said as she pulled out her cell phone. She caught a glare from Angel's direction as she dialed the number.

"Hi Spike." she said sweetly.

" 'Ello luv. What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Well, we're going out on the boat today and then we're going on jet skis and banana boats and I don't wanna be the only one without a boyfriend and I miss you so will you show up?" Buffy asked.

"Well, my band had practice today, but I guess I can skip it for you." he said.

"Thank you baby! I'll see you in an hour. Mucho love. Bye." Buffy said and snapped her phone shut.

Everyone chatted for a little while and then went upstairs to change into their bathing suits. By the time they were ready, Spike was waiting at the door, and the group left.

"Our boat is the best!" Xander boasted as they cruised down the line of boats. The finally pulled to a stop in front of a smaller boat with lights strung all around it. The guys carried out their fishing supplies and the girls carried out coolers and they all loaded onto the boat.

"Ooh Angel, I forgot to put sunblock on. Could you help me?" Darla asked as she thrust a bottle of sunscreen into his hands.

"Sure." Angel answered and began rubbing the lotion on her body. As you might guess, this quickly turned into another make-out session. Connor gagged and pretended to throw up over the side of the boat, which sent Dawn into a fit of giggles. Xander and Cordelia silently mocked them, every now in then, Cordelia making a face like she was moaning, but she was totally quiet. Which of course everyone was laughing at.

Buffy felt Spike slip an arm around her waist and she turned to him.

"What's up?" she asked. He didn't answer, just leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. She parted them and let his tongue slip in. She pulled him closer, deepening the kiss and felt his hands rubbing up and down her back. She actually heard Darla and Angel stop making out and could feel Angel's eyes on her. She glanced at him and saw his face red with anger.

He walked over and grasped Buffy's arm tightly and said in a dangerously quiet voice, "We need to talk."

The two walked into the cabin of the boat and he finally released her arm, showing that he had left a mark.

"My god Angel! What are you doing?" she asked, rubbing her forearm. He paced in front of her and suddenly leaned in and kissed her hard on the mouth. She sighed out of a mixture of surprise and pain. "Angel!"

"Buffy. I just want you so bad." he said, breathing raggedly. He pushed himself against her and she took a step back.

"Angel! Stop! You have Darla. Please. You don't get me until you break up with Darla. I'm sorry but that's how it is." Buffy explained. She pushed him away softly. He looked into her eyes and she felt herself melting all over again.

"What about Spike? Will you break up with Spike?" he asked stroking her face.

"I-I don't know." Buffy said softly.

"Can I change your mind?" he asked and kissed her softly on the neck. She felt her stomach rising to her throat and moaned quietly. He slowly placed his hands on her hips and leaned into her.

"Angel." She said quietly, but firmly. "Stop." He reluctantly pulled away and the two walked out into the sunshine again.

Spike immediately pulled Buffy to him. "What did Peaches want?" he asked.

"Well, he doesn't like you and he was just telling me to be careful." Buffy lied. "But no worries." She ran her fingers through his messy blond hair and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Now go, fish."

He smacked her lightly on the butt and joined the other guys. The girls swarmed over at Buffy and they all plopped down, sharing details of their relationships. Darla, however had made herself comfortable in Angel's lap, kissing him and sucking on him, and groping him.

Buffy shuddered in disgust, making her rethink the whole conversation she had just had with Angel. She unconsciously lifted a hand up to her neck.

"Buffy. Helloo! Earth to the Buffster." Willow said, waving a hand in front of her best friend's face.

"What? I'm here. Huh?" she asked. The other three girls burst into giggles.

It was around five and the sun was sinking in the sky.

"Over to the banana boats?" Willow asked. Everyone agreed and started in towards the docks. They packed up and loaded into the cars again and went over to the open water for jet skis.

They listened to the rules and then they decided to go on the banana boat first.

"It can hold up to ten people." the man pointed out. He was very tan with short brown hair and a very nice build.

"Ooh! That's all of us!" Buffy exclaimed entwining her fingers with Spike's. And so they all got their life jackets on and got onto the banana boat: the girls on the left and the boys on the right.

"Hold on, girls, this is gonna be a bumpy ride." Xander warned as he grabbed the handle in front of him. Everyone did the same. And the ride started.

They went shooting forward so fast that Darla and Angel (they were both on the end) flew off the back and the ride came to a halt.

"EW! This is disgusting! This water is so muddy!" Darla exclaimed as she pulled herself back onto the boat.

"It's not that bad." Angel protested gently.

"You have no idea, you're just a dirty disgusting boy!" she retorted. Angel retaliated, hurt by her words.

"Darla, why don't you piss off and leave your boyfriend alone. He was trying to help you." Spike shot at her. This got amazed looks from everyone, seeing as how Angel hated Spike.

"God you're all such…babies!" Darla exclaimed and took her seat once more. The boat started again and Buffy and Willow were the next to fall. They laughed and pulled themselves back up.

By the end of the ride, everyone but Spike had fallen off and he pumped his fists in the air in triumph. Then they rented three jet skis and used the two they had.

Buffy and Spike went on one, with Buffy driving. Xander and Cordelia went on one, with Xander driving. Angel and Darla went on one, with Angel driving. Willow and Oz went on one with Oz driving. Connor and Dawn went on one, with Connor driving.

Buffy felt Spike put his arms around her waist and she looked out onto the water, enjoying its beauty. She felt like this moment could last forever, and she pretended that the man holding onto her was Angel. The sun was setting, giving the water a pink glow. She took a deep breath and felt tears stinging at her eyes.

It was like realization had hit her. This summer wasn't going to last forever, and she'd have to return home at the end. Return school, and the boring life. Leave the Atlantic Coast, leave her new-found friends and boyfriend, leave this carefree life.

The group didn't stop for another hour and then went home. Everyone was chattering about how much fun it was and how they would just love to do it again.

"Hey, its only nine, we could make it to the party in an hour." Angel suggested.

"What party?" Darla asked.

"The one that they have every Thursday." Connor explained. Everyone exchanged looks before running up to their room to get ready.

Buffy and Willow looked through their clothes trying to find the perfect outfit.

Buffy pulled out a tiny black skirt and a black halter top. She put them on and then pulled out some nice heels and put her hair in a half-ponytail.

Willow pulled out a little yellow dress with little purple dolphins embroidered on it. She curled her hair and let it hang around her face.

"I'm seriously considering getting my hair cut." Willow said as she fixed it.

"How short?" Buffy inquired.

"I dunno, shoulder length maybe?" Willow answered.

"Aw, that would be too cute!" Buffy squealed as she applied her make up.

Soon the group was ready to go and loaded into three cars.

"We just have to be home by midnight." Willow warned as they walked in.

"Agreed." Xander said. They each went in, arm in arm with their boyfriends or girlfriends.

The music blared around them as they went out onto the dance floor and began dancing.

About halfway through, Angel, Xander, and Connor got tired and went over to a table to get some drinks. Buffy and Willow continued dancing with their boyfriends, Cordelia and Dawn began dancing together, and Darla grabbed some random guy and began dancing with him (a la Dawn in the episode 'Him'). Angel saw it and all but exploded. He just quietly sipped his drink, fuming.

The group started home at around 11:50 and got home just as it was midnight.

"Good, cause we didn't want to ground you again." Giles said as the group walked in. He spun on his heel and walked away with his cup of tea.

The group shrugged at each other, but was all too tired to care and immediately went to bed.

**----**

**If anyone still reads this..please review to let us know that you do..whether you hate us or not, just tell us by reviewing )**


	21. Chapter 20 What Needs to be Done

**A/N: This chapter was written by Ozlover.**

Chapter 20-What needs to be Done

That morning Cordelia and Dawn awoke about the same time.

"Good morning." Dawn chirped as she got out of bed.

"'Morning" Cordelia smiled as she too got out of bed. It was odd actually. She was usually grumpy in the morning. They got dressed, applied make-up and fixed their hair before heading downstairs. They were the only ones awake. When they went into the kitchen Cordelia noticed a note taped to the refrigerator door. She scanned over it.

"What's that?" Dawn asked, coming up behind Cordelia.

"A note from Jenny." Cordelia answered. "It says that she went out and got us all breakfast and that she and Giles will be back before lunch."

"Oh. Cool." Dawn replied. Cordelia opened the fridge and saw six very large McDonald's bags shoved inside.

"Thank you, Jenny." Dawn said whole-heartedly. She was glad she wouldn't be having Lucky Charms for breakfast _again_.

The girls went through a couple of bags, taking out what they wanted and heating it up if need be.

Soon Willow joined them in the kitchen.

"Where's Buffy?" Cordelia asked before taking a bite of her biscuit.

"She's still asleep. And sorta sleep-talking." Willow replied.

"Again?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah. She was talking about albino bananas when I left." The three girls giggled. Angel and Darla were the next two teenagers awake and in the kitchen. Darla looked through the McDonald's bag disgustedly, only touching them with the tips of her fingers, like they were infected or something.

"Ew." She whined. "This stuff is gross. If I eat it I'll gain ten pounds!"

"Then just get something else, Baby." Angel said, trying to help.

"Fine." She said. She pulled a bottle of spring water from the refrigerator and that was her breakfast.

Buffy and Xander were the next to arrive downstairs.

"Ooh! Fast food!" Xander exclaimed happily as he saw the McDonald's bags.

"Ooh! Calories!" Buffy joked. Everyone smiled. Except Angel, who looked mildly amused and Darla who just ignored her.

Oz came into the kitchen next, soon followed by Connor.

"So, what are we doing today?" Dawn asked no one in particular. Everyone was in the living room now.

"Swim. Eat. Swim more. Play video games." Xander answered.

"Ah, summer laziness." Buffy observed.

"You got that right." Xander grinned. Darla plopped down on Angel's lap. She began kissing him which quickly turned into making out. Needless to say, no one was surprised. Buffy stood up and pulled Dawn along with her.

"What? Do I have to stand guard or something?" Dawn whispered jokingly.

"Actually, yes." Buffy answered. Dawn rolled her eyes.

"I'll tell you when Darla needs to breathe." Dawn said and watched from the bottom of the stairs. Buffy crept into Darla's room, knowing it all a little too well for her liking. She went over to the stereo and put the headphones in the plug. She turned it on and turned the volume all the way up, leaving the headphones in so that it could barely be heard. She turned the stereo off and took the headphones.

She crept downstairs and she and Dawn reentered the room, where Darla and Angel were _still_ kissing. Dawn rolled her eyes as she nestled in Connor's arms.

"Let's go swimming." Dawn suggested. Everyone went upstairs to change into their bathing suits. Everyone headed into the pool, except Darla who was laying on her towel in the sun, tanning. Buffy, Willow, Dawn and Cordelia kept 'accidentally' splashing her. She got up, snatched her towel from the ground and stormed inside angrily. She stomped upstairs into the bathroom to blow-dry her hair. Then she remembered the the dye she'd put in Buffy's shampoo bottle. She smiled as she realized that Buffy was about to get a bad hair day. About two hours later. everyone was just starting to get out of the pool and Darla got another idea.

"Buffy." Darla called from her place on the couch, not even bothering to look at Buffy. " Spike called. He wants you to meet him at that gross pizza place, Sadie's, for a lunch date thing at noon."

At that, Buffy, Willow, Cordelia and Dawn rushed upstairs. The other girls wanted to help Buffy get ready for her date. She didn't have time to shower, and she didn't need to anyway. The pool was filled with salt water, not chlorine, so her hair wouldn't be all gross and sticky. Buffy wondered, for a moment, why Darla would even bother telling her that Spike called, but she dismissed the thought from her mind. Cordelia picked out a denim mini-skirt for Buffy, and Willow pulled out a pink and brown polka-dotted cami to go with it. Dawn suggested that Buffy wear her pair of brown, dressy flip-flips that had a slight heel and would give her a little extra height. Her hair was simple. It hung around her face in loose curls. She applied a little bit of make-up- nothing much- and she was ready to go.

Cordelia told Buffy she'd drive her to Sadie's, drop her off and pick her up again when she called from her cell. It was almost noon, so the two girls rushed out the door and hopped into the car. They were at Sadie's in a matter of minutes, but Spike was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon." Buffy assured Cordelia. Cordelia waved good-bye and drove back to the house.

Buffy had been sitting alone on a bar stool when a waiter came to take her order.

"Oh, I'm waiting for someone." She told him politely.

"Well, would you like something to drink while you wait?" The man asked. Buffy sighed. This guy wasn't going to give up.

"Sure. I'll have, uh...a small root beer float, please."

"Right away." The waiter said before disappearing behind the bar. He returned minutes later with her drink. She barely touched it. She just sighed, and twirled the straw around in the brown, goopy mess that was passed off as a root beer float. She glanced at her watch. It was almost twelve thirty and Spike still wasn't there. She was beginning to get mad. She kept telling herself that she'd wait for one more minute, one more minute. It was twelve forty-five and she was getting more upset by the second. Yet, she was afraid to leave because if he came right after she left, he'd think she stood him up. Wait...was it possible? Had Spike stood her up?

Buffy grabbed her purse off the table, pulled her cell phone out and dialed Spike's number.

" 'Ello?" Came a voice.

"Spike? Where the hell are you!" She asked angrily.

"I'm at my apartment." Spike answered, clearly confused. "What's wrong, Buffy?"

"You stood me up, you big...jerk!" She exclaimed.

"Stood you up? Buffy, what are you talking about?" Spike asked. Buffy could tell by the tone of his voice that he really was surprised.

"Wait...You didn't call to set up a date at Sadie's?" She asked.

"Um...No." Spike answered, shaking his head, even though he knew she couldn't see him.

"Oh...Darla." Buffy practically growled. She should've known...

"What's going on?" Spike asked.

"Nothing." Buffy said, not wanting to explain what had happened for fear of screaming. Spike knew she was lying, but didn't want to upset her by pushing.

"Do you want me to pick you up?"

"No thank-you. I already have a ride." Buffy said, trying to sound cheerful and failing miserably.

"Alright then...I'll see you later. I love you." Spike replied.

"I love you too." Buffy returned, although she wasn't sure she meant it. She flipped her phone shut, then back open. She dialed Cordelia's number, who told her she'd be there right away. Sure enough, she arrived five minutes later and Buffy was glad to see her. She left seven dollars on the table, which would definitely cover her drink and a tip. Buffy explained what had happened on the way home and Cordelia helped by throwing in some angry words when needed.

Buffy stomped through the front door, face red with anger.

"Where is she?" She growled, glancing around the room. Everyone knew who she was talking about.

"In her room." Willow answered.

Buffy wasted no time running up the stairs and pounding on Darla's bedroom door.

"What?" Darla spat as she opened the door. Buffy didn't answer, just slapped her hard across the face. Darla reeled back, putting a hand to her face, shocked that Buffy would hit her. Darla was about to slap her back when Buffy slammed the door right in her face. Darla screamed in frustration. Buffy couldn't help but smirk as she slipped into her room and locked the door.

Willow came upstairs, looking for Buffy. She knocked on the door.

"If it's you I'm gonna kill you!" Buffy's voice came through the door.

"Um, it's just me..." Willow replied, sort of afraid.

"Oh. Hold on." Buffy replied when she heard Willow's voice. There was shuffling in the room, the click of the lock unlocking and Buffy opened the door. "Come in."

"Uh, ok." Willow said as she entered the room. "What happened?" She asked, very concerned for her best friend. Buffy explained everything that happened.

"You hit her?" Willow asked incredulously. Buffy nodded sheepishly. "Well, I can't say that she didn't deserve it." At that, Buffy cracked a small smile.

"Do you wanna be alone? To, you know, think?" Willow asked. Buffy nodded gratefully. She got up and hugged Willow.

"You know me better than anyone." Buffy mumbled into her shoulder. Willow just smiled before leaving the room. Buffy sighed and flopped down onto her bed. She looked over at the radio sitting by her bed. It was the one that she had placed under Darla's window. She reached over and turned it on. "Let Me Go" by 3 Doors Down was playing.

_In my head there's only you now _

This world falls on me

In this world there's real and make-believe

And this feels real to me

You love me but you don't know who I am

I'm torn between this life I lead and where I stand

And you love me but you don't know who I am

So let me go

Let me go

_Wow...That really hits the nail on the head._ Buffy thought. She turned off the radio and decided to take a shower. That always made her feel better. So she went into the bathroom and grabbed a fluffy blue towel off the rack. Once she was in the shower she began absent-mindedly singing the song she'd heard on the radio mintues before. She closed her eyes and poured the shampoo into her hands and lathered her hair up with it. She was careful to keep her eyes closed while she washed it out, not wanting to get any in her eyes. When she was done, she stepped out of the shower and looked at the fogged up mirror. Something wasn't right. Her hair wasn't that dark. She reached up to the mirror and wiped the fog away. She nearly fainted when she saw her hair. Instead, she screamed.

From her room, Darla grinned wickedly. Sure, she was sporting a bright red handprint across her face, but at that moment it was worth it. Buffy was close to tears. She threw on a long white robe and, in a burst of fury, she pushed the door open and ran into her and Willow's room, where she let the tears fall.

"What now?" Cordelia asked. She, Willow and Dawn ran upstairs to check on Buffy. Willow didn't bother to knock. She just went right in, followed by Cordelia and Dawn. Buffy was in a heap on the bed, crying her eyes out.

"Oh, my God! What happened?" Willow asked when she saw Buffy's deep green hair. She went over and scooped Buffy into a hug and tried to calm her down. Dawn and Cordelia went over and patted Buffy on the back.

"Let me guess. It was Darla?" Dawn asked. Buffy nodded meekly. The crying had slowed a little bit.

"Come on. We should go downstairs. All the guys are probably wondering what's going on." Cordelia suggested softly. They all got up off the bed and headed towards the stairs.

"What if they laugh at me?" Buffy asked. "What if Angel laughs at me?" She whispered to Willow. The thought of Angel seeing her like this made her stomach knot up.

"He won't. No one will. It's not funny." Willow assured her. Willow was angry. Darla had gone too far this time. Buffy stopped at the top of the stairs.

"What happened up there?" Angel asked.

"Buffy, c'mon." Willow nudged her gently downstairs.

"Please don't laugh at me." Buffy sniffled.

"Oh, Buff." Xander shook his head and went and hugged her. "Don't worry about it. We can fix it tomorrow." Buffy nodded.

"How did this happen?" Oz asked.

"Darla." Buffy said bitterly, wiping at her eyes. You couldn't tell by looking at him, but Angel was fuming. This 'war' between the two girls was quickly getting out of hand.

Just then, Jenny came stumbled through the door carrying various colored and sized bags. Giles came through the door moments later, also loaded down with shopping bags.

"Hey, sorry we're late. So many stores were having sales, and..." Jenny took off her sunglasses and eyed Buffy's green hair. "Huh." Was all she said. Giles tried not to stare. _Teenangers and their short-lived fads..._ He thought as he followed Jenny upstairs to the room they shared to put the bags down. Jenny came back downstairs moments later.

"What do you guys want for lunch?" She asked on her way to the kitchen. No one really cared.

"Anything is fine, really." Willow answered. Jenny shrugged and disappeared in the kitchen. The teens enjoyed their lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches, BLTs, chips, cheetos and soda. Darla never came downstairs, not that anyone cared anyway. It was safe to say that everyone was a little upset at her for turning Buffy into what she called a 'discolored smurf'. After they ate, everyone decided to hang out by the beach shore.

"Uh-uh. Noo way." Buffy crossed her arms.

"C'mon, Buff. I'm _not_ gonna leave you in here to mope all day." Willow gave Buffy her 'resolve face.'

"Will! Look at me! I have every reason to do just that."

"Please? You can wear a hat or something!" Willow offered. Buffy sighed.

"Okay. You never give up, do you?" Buffy asked with a small smirk. Willow shook her head, grinning. Buffy tied her hair up in a high bun and put a pink and white baseball cap over it. By the time they got out to the shore, the other teens were already there.

"I wonder where Darla and Angel are?" Buffy asked sarcastically, rolling her eyes slightly when she noticed that the couple was nowhere to be seen.

"You just need to get your mind off of him, and you'll be fine." Willow did her best to assure her.

"But the thing is- I'm not really sure I want to." Buffy answered.

00000

Darla and Angel walked along the hot, sandy beach.

"This sand is burning my feet." Darla whined and she gingerly hopped from foot to foot on the burning sand. "If you wanted to, like, make out we could've just done it back there in front of all your friends like we usually do." Darla grumped. Angel didn't respond. "Besides, I like making Buffy mad." She added.

Angel sighed in frustration. "This is kinda what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Talk? I thought we were gonna make out." Darla crossed her arms and looked at him in confusion.

"No. No more making out." At this Darls's eyes widened. But she kept her mouth shut for once and let him continue. He sighed again. "I don't think this is gonna work."

"What's not gonna work?" Darla asked frantically. "You can't mean _this_" She said, motioning to herself and Angel. "You can't be dumping _me_! That is _not_ how it works!"

"Calm down, please." Angel pleaded softly. Other beach-goers were giving them annoyed looks.

"How can I calm down! Don't talk to me like I'm a kid or something!" Darla shouted, her face turning red. She spun on her heel, about to walk off in the other direction when Angel reached over and grabbed her shoulder.

"I'm not done." He told her. Darla was furious and close to tears. "I want you to know why I'm doing this. Why this isn't going to work."

Darla looked mildly intrigued. "Fine. Why don't you tell me what I did wrong, 'cause I sure as hell don't know." She crossed her arms impatiently.

000000

Buffy glanced far off to her right. She and Willow were lounging on the sandy beach, on a big towel.

"Hey, look." She said, nudging Willow. It looked like Angel and Darla. Darla was running towards them with Angel a little ways behind. He was rubbing the bridge of his nose wearily.

When Darla reached them she choked out "I hope you're happy. He wants you, not me. He'll always be on your side, not mine!" With that she stormed off into the house.

"What was that all about?" Buffy asked, obviously confused.

"No idea." Willow responded, equally confused. When Angel reached them he didn't say anything, didn't even look at them. He just wandered into the house.

Everyone else stayed on the beach for another hour before heading inside. Buffy was dying to know what had happened between Darla and Angel. Judging by the look on Darla's face, it had been a big argument. Buffy felt guilty for feeling so happy about that.

When the teens entered the house they scattered and did their own things. Willow and Oz curled up on the couch to watch TV, as did Dawn and Connor. Xander and Cordelia went down to the basement to play video games. Buffy went upstairs and stood quiet outside Darla's door. Inside, she could hear loud sniffling and shuffling around. Buffy left and went down to the basement to join Xander and Cordelia.

0000

Angel sat alone in his and Connor's room with the door locked. His and Darla's earlier conversation echoed in his head. He knew he had broken her heart, but it was what needed to be done. He just hoped that Buffy would accept him after everything that had happened.

0000

Another couple of hours passed as the teens did nothing but lay around and be lazy. The sun was just starting to set. As Angel walked out of his room, he felt something crackle under his feet. He bent down to pick up a small piece of paper, which he turned around in his hands. All it said was 'Meet me at sunset'. Angel cracked a small smile, put the note in his pocket and headed downstairs. Willow and Oz were on the couch kissing.

He crept outside, not wanting to alert the couple of his presence.

The warm sun beamed down on him and made him smile. His smile grew when he saw her sitting on the sand with an art pad, palette and paint brush. She was attempting to paint the sunset. Sure, she could paint _it_ but she couldn't express in her painting how it made her feel to see the real thing. Angel noticed that she was dipping her brush in the ocean water when it rushed back and forth.

"It's good." Angel said when he walked up behind her.

"Thanks." Buffy said, not looking up at him. Angel sat down beside her.

"Why are you doing that?" He asked when she put her brush in the water.

"I don't know...It makes it feel more special to me, I guess." Buffy answered. There was a silence.

"It's very colorful." He said to break the silence.

"Like my hair?" Buffy asked.

"Well, uh, I, um, didn't mean it like that." Angel mumbled. Buffy grinned to herself.

"I know. I just wanted to see your reaction." Buffy said. _Plus, you're so cute when you get all flustered._ She thought.

"It's not that bad. Your hair, I mean." He added. "It really brings out the green in your eyes." He said, staring at her.

"I bet it does." She joked. She couldn't help but smile at his compliment.

"So...You wanted to see me about something?"  
Buffy nodded.

"And?"

"I just...I wanted to know what happened today. Like with you and Darla." She paused, waiting for his response. "But it's really none of my business, and it's fine if you don't wanna tell-"

"No, it's okay." Angel cut her off. "We just got in a fight..." He trailed off. Buffy was looking at him intently. He knew she wanted to know why Darla said what she did to her. "And I told Darla that I'd rather be with you...And that what she did to you today was immature." He told her honestly.

"Oh." Angel was going crazy inside. What did she think? Would she want him too? He didn't deserve her...Suddenly, Buffy leaned over impulsively and kissed him. He returned the kiss, though caught off guard. Buffy finally ended the kiss and buried her head in her hands.

"What am I gonna do?" She moaned quietly.

"Well, I'd tell you what I think you should do, but my opinion is biased." Angel said. Buffy smiled, even though he couldn't see her face.

"I stand by what I said yesterday: You can't have me until you give up Darla." She told him firmly.

"I already did." He answered.

"You...?"

"Broke up with Darla." He finished the sentence for her. "I think she's leaving tomorrow."

Buffy was shocked. Even more so when she thought deeper. If she broke up with Spike, she could finally have Angel. All she would have to do...Would be break up with Spike. It was so simple. But then she thought about how sweet Spike was to her, and how much he cared about her. She felt sick to her stomach as she realized that she has used Spike. Used him to get to Angel.

"What's wrong?" Angel asked, noticing her pained expression.

"Nothing." She lied.

"You can tell me." He prodded gently.

Buffy sighed. "It's just...Spike."

Angel sighed as well. "I knew that would be a problem. Spike was always a problem." The two were silent. "Just do what you think is right. And get back to me, okay? Because I'm not going to give up on you without a fight." He said before standing up and brushing the sand off of himself. When he was gone, she picked up her art pad and was able to capture the tail end of the sunset, just before it disappeared under the horizon. Buffy stayed out there, long after the sky had went from red, to purple to black. Long after the stars came out. It seemed like hours. Finally, Dawn came out to check on her.

"Hey, Jenny made dinner. Are you gonna come inside?" She asked her older sister.

"Yeah." She stood up and Dawn helped her brush the sand away.

"Wow, that's a really nice picture, Buffy." Dawn commented.

"Thanks." The two girls went inside and ate dinner with the rest of the teens. Except Darla, who stayed in her room. Jenny tried to coax her downstairs for dinner with no avail.

"Uh, Darla told me that she's leaving tomorrow." Jenny said when she came back downstairs. "I just thought I should let you know..." No one said anymore on the subject. The topic of conversation switched to how beautiful the sunset was.

After the late dinner, the teens(minus Darla of course) settled in the basement to watch an old horror movie.

"This sucks! The werewolf looks like a big, gay possum." Cordelia commented during the movie.

"Yes, we know. It's because it's an old movie, honey." Xander soothed.

000Meanwhile in Darla's room...000

Darla had already packed her stuff up for tomorrow. She undressed for bed, put her favorite rap CD into the stereo and turned it on with the remote. It was so loud that the whole room shook with the bass. Darla fell to the floor, covering her ears. She made a grab for the remote and turned it off. Knowing full well that everyone would come to see what happened, she quickly pulled on a robe.

Sure enough, moments later the entire gang, who'd heard the house-shaking noise from the basement, plus Giles and Jenny were at her door.

"What was that?" Jenny asked, a little shaken up from the noise.

"I'm sorry, I don't know how it happened." Darla explained. "The volume was turned up all the way...I didn't leave it that way last night..." She trailed off. Then she realized what must've happened. "I'm sorry, I won't let it happen again." She smiled through gritted teeth.

Jenny and Giles nodded and left the room, along with the teens. When the door closed, Darla jumped onto her bed and shrieked into her pillow.

Buffy snicked softly on the way back to the basement.

"Buffy, you didn't!" Willow asked in mock disappointment.

"Maybe..." Buffy grinned and the two girls giggled.

After the movie was over, everyone played video games for an hour or so, then headed to bed early.

00000

Angel was getting ready for bed when he realized that the mote Buffy had given him was still in his pocket.

He pulled it out, and smoothed away the wrinkles in it. He gently placed it under his pillow before climbing into bed and switching off the lamp beside his bed.

00000

After Buffy and Willow exchanged their goodnights, Buffy lay awake in the dark, staring at the ceiling. The lyrics from the song she'd heard earlier drifted back to her.

_One more kiss could be the best thing  
But one more lie could be the worst  
And all these thoughts are never resting  
And you're not something I deserve _

In my head there's only you know  
This world falls on me  
In this world there's real and make believe  
And this seems real to me

You love me but you don't know who I am  
I'm torn between this life I lead and where I stand  
And you love me but you don't know who I am  
So let me go  
Let me go

I dream ahead to what I hope for  
And I turn my back on loving you  
How can this love be a good thing  
When I know what I'm going throughAnd no matter how hard I try  
I can't escape these things inside I know  
I know...  
When all the pieces fall apart  
You will be the only one who knows  
Who knows

You love me but you don't know who I am  
I'm torn between this life I lead and where I stand  
And you love me but you don't know who I am  
So let me go  
Let me go

You love me but you don't  
You love me but you don't  
You love me but you don't know who I am  
You love me but you don't  
You love me but you don't  
You love me but you don't know me…

x0x0x0x

**Ok, if you've actually read this far, please review because I'm not sure if anyone still reads this..thanks. Ozlover**


	22. Chapter 21 Storms, Bad Hair & Hair Cuts

Chapter Twenty-One: Storms, Bad Hair, and Haircuts

**A/N: This chapter was written by Willowzlilsecret.**

**A/N: Thanks to everyone that has reviewed so far-it's good to know that people still read. )**

Willow was up early again and could hear her aunt and uncles arguing voices from her room. She crept down, torn between guilt from eavesdropping and curiosity.

She leaned against the edge of the door and listened.

"Well?" Jenny's voice came, more calm then before.

"We have a lead. He hasn't been seen lately, but we have tracked him a to a certain cell phone." Giles explained.

"What? Cell—who would be stupid enough?" Jenny asked disbelievingly.

"Well, apparently this man. He has made numerous threats using the same phone. And we should be able to make our move in the next week at least." Giles said in a reassuring tone. Willow sighed and crossed herself before going back to listening.

"I have to go now. Back to the-the library." Giles said and kissed Jenny on the cheek. Willow scrambled onto the couch next to Oz, barely staying on.

Both Giles and Jenny left the kitchen soon followed by the sound of the front door shutting and a car starting and the shower upstairs starting.

"Boo." Came Oz's voice from next to her. She was so startled that she jumped and would've fallen off had it not been for Oz quickly grabbing her and holding her close to him.

"Good morning." Willow said softly before kissing him softly on the lips. When she pulled away Oz raised an eyebrow and replied with,

"Love you." She smiled shyly before pulling Oz's cover's over her own body and snuggling against him.

He kissed her forehead and stroked her hair. He felt her breathing slow as she went back to sleep. He let a smiled creep on his face before resting his head on Willow's.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

Both of them were shaken awake two hours later by a frantic looking Buffy.

"What's going on?" Willow asked groggily.

"Hurry! Get up!" Buffy said, not answering. She grabbed Willow's arm and jerked her up.

"Oz come on!" she screamed. The rest of the gang were all running around the room grabbing random things such as pillows, blankets, flashlights, and batteries. Now that she was more awake, Willow noticed the sky was darker then usual and rain was splashing against the windows.

"Whats going on?" she repeated. Xander looked at her with wide-eyes.

"Hurricane." he said. Willow's eyes widened as she got up and began ushering the dogs up the stairs. Oz stood up and started down the stairs.

"Where the hell are you going?" Angel yelled. Oz shook his head and continued down.

The teens shook their heads, and continued grabbing things.

"We're up in Jenny and Giles' room." Willow called as she shut the door behind her.

"Has anyone seen Snoopy?" Buffy asked frantically as she searched under tables and chairs.

"No." Cordelia said in a high-pitched tone. Suddenly they heard Oz sloshing his way up the stairs carrying a wet crying dog. Snoopy. The group looked down the stairs to see that the house was flooded up to the second stair.

Willow grabbed Snoopy and rushed him up to the room. The rest of the group followed soon after, shutting the door and sealing it with random articles of clothing just in case.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

The dogs were all curled on the bathroom floor, Snoopy in the middle. He was still wet and shaking from the cold. Xander was holding Buffy in his arms. Cordelia and Dawn were curled up together on the bed. Angel and Connor were sitting on the floor playing cards. And Willow and Oz were sitting on the window seat looking out at the weather.

The sky was a sickly green and the ocean waves were huge. Every now and then the sky lit up with lightening and thunder cracked the silence. Rain spattered against the window so loudly that they could've been at a rock concert.

"Where's Darla?" Oz yelled over the rain.

"She left early this morning. Like 3 AM early. Also she called to say she got home ok, around like nine." Angel answered as he dealt a new hand of cards. There was a long silence.

"I can't believe there weren't any warnings or signs of a hurricane." Cordelia said over the pounding rain.

"There were!" Xander said as he stroked Buffy's hair. She was shivering and scared to death. No one really knew what was wrong with her.

"What are you talking about?" Dawn asked, also yelling.

"There were, but we ignored him due to the fact of rapist." Angel supported Xander's theory.

"Stupid rapist." Connor added before setting down his cards. "I win."

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

By lunchtime the storm had passed and it was found that they had only gotten the edge of the hurricane, and barely had any damage.

The whole first story/basement was ruined and flooded, and the wood stairs were goners.

Luckily the kitchen and living room were ok. But the pool had flooded over onto the deck, so they had quite a bit of damage.

Soon as they got their electricity back, calls were made to Jenny, Giles, and Spike. As well as numerous calls from parents that had heard about the hurricane.

"Well, looks like we're inside all day." Xander observed.

"Well, its getting sunnier, we could probably do something." Buffy said, more calm.

"Don't take this the wrong way Buff, but if another one of these started up, I don't think you be in any shape to do anything." Xander replied not unkindly.

"Yeah Buffy. What went on up there?" Willow asked. Buffy shook her head.

"Well, I think it's a good idea, as long as we stay near to the house." Angel said, siding with his (hopefully) girlfriend-to-be.

"Ok." Dawn agreed, seeing that Buffy didn't want to discus it. She knew exactly what had happened to Buffy to make her that way. "Let's go."

The group all changed out of their pajamas and into bathing suits, shorts, and old flip-flops. Buffy made a quick call to Spike and told him that they were going to be around outside the house if he wanted to show up.

As soon as they got outside, the groups paired off. Xander and Connor, Willow and Oz, Buffy and Angel, Dawn and Cordelia.

The water was still a little more then ankle deep, and the girls had fun splashing around in it.

Buffy and Angel walked a ways towards town, just talking.

"So, really, what made you so afraid of hurricanes?" Angel asked.

"Nothing. I don't wanna talk about it." Buffy said. She skipped up a ways and kicked a little water at him.

He sighed before splashing her back.

" 'ell luv." came Spike's voice from behind her. Buffy spun around and saw him approaching. She squealed and ran into his arms.

Angel looked down and amused himself with some floating grass-the same color as Buffy's hair-trying to ignore Buffy and Spike.

Buffy wrapped her arms around Spike's neck, totally oblivious of the fact that Angel was even there. She felt his arms slip around her waist as he pulled her up. She kissed him lovingly and stroked his messy hair.

Angel cleared his throat loudly and Buffy dropped away from Spike.

"Oops. Sorry." she murmured.

"Let's see if we can find the rest of the gang." Angel suggested, not looking at either of them.

Spike shrugged and seized Buffy's hand. And so they walked Buffy and Spike hand in hand with Angel about a yard ahead of them.

The group approached Cordy and Dawn, who were splashing each other and running around wildly, screaming and laughing. Unfortunately, Angel, who was in the front, got splashed straight in the face.

'This is the worst day ever.' Angel decided as he wiped the muddy water off his face.

"Oops." Cordelia giggled before splashing Dawn again. Angel rolled his eyes before kicking an enormous amount of water at the two girls. The burst into harder laughter and Dawn ran up to him, throwing herself on him. He threw her over one shoulder, and Cordelia over the other.

Buffy fumed jealously behind him, watching him holding her best friend and sister. She must've tightened her grip on Spike's hand because he turned to her and asked what was wrong.

"Uhm, I…something slimy wrapped around my ankle. It was gross." Buffy lied. Spike picked her up and held her like a little child. She felt much better. She kissed him on the cheek before resting her head on his shoulder.

'This is just great. You love both of them. You should've known that you can't use people. Something always goes wrong. Someone figures it out or…or you fall in love.' she scolded herself.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

Soon the whole group was rounded up and they were back in the house, drying off, so on and so fourth. They all sat on the couch, but Spike pulled Buffy aside.

"Now, I know this probably isn't the best time but…how did you manage to get green hair?" he asked.

"Darla. She dyed it." Buffy said coldly. Off the look she had, Spike decided to leave it alone.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

The group had the ps2 set up in the living room and they were playing different games while eating ice cream, chips, and other random junk food items.

"Where's Darla?" Spike whispered to Willow. She shifted uncomfortably before explaining everything to him. He nodded and then tussled Buffy's hair before pulling her into a tight hug.

She smiled up at him before digging into the ice cream gallon she was sharing with Xander. Oz was battling Connor (as usual) and so far, no one was winning. Dawn was cheering on Connor and Willow was cheering on Oz.

All in all, the day wasn't that bad, seeing as how it had started out with a bad storm and a flood.

About half an hour later, Jenny arrived home carrying grocery bags. "A little help, please?"

All the guys jumped up to help her. She smiled at them but did a double-take when she saw Spike.

"William! Well, it's been so long!" She said, setting the rest of the bags on the floor and kissing him on either cheek. She bent down to pick up the bags but he stopped her.

"Don't worry 'bout it, I got it." he assured her as he picked up the bags.

"Ok, then, I'll just start on lunch!" Jenny smiled. She started to walk away, turned and looked at him, smiled, and went into the kitchen. The girls had cleaned up all their trash and tidied the family room before Jenny got a good look at it.

Oz and Connor were still battling it out, not taking their eyes off the TV screen. Soon the whole group had taken sides according to their favorite character.

"Come on kids, early dinner or late lunch, whatever you wanna call it." Jenny called from the kitchen.

"Hold on mom." Xander called over his shoulder, watching the TV screen intently.

"Ok, well it's going to get cold." Jenny warned.

"Ok." Xander answered. Moments later Oz won. Half the group jumped up in whoops in yells and the other half, not so much.

They all went into the kitchen and saw that they had hamburgers and chips for the late lunch/early dinner.

Giles arrived home and ate with them and Jenny came into the room. She mouthed something to him, but he shook his head 'no'

"Does anyone want to check out the damage down at the beach?" Connor suggested as he took his, Dawn's, Xander's, and Cordelia's dishes to the sink.

"Ooh! Isn't that dangerous?" Willow asked as she chewed her last bite of burger.

"Why would it be dangerous?" Dawn question as she grabbed the cups and put them in the sink.

"I don't know. I mean, it looked pretty scary earlier." Willow said softly.

"_Looked_ scary. As in you _saw_ it!" Giles exclaimed, taking off his glasses.

"Well yeah, there was a window." Willow said, raising an eyebrow.

"Why didn't you board up the window?" Giles said in a dangerously quiet tone.

"We didn't think of it. We were panicking." Xander defended her.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?" Giles roared. Willow cowered back and Xander stood up, his chair flying back.

"It's not like we knew! We woke up and we look out and Buffy just yells 'It's a hurricane!' And we all scattered, waking people up and getting the dogs." Xander shot back.

"I-I know, I'm sorry. But do you know how worrisome it is?" Giles said wearily, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"S-s-sorry." Willow said quietly.

"So am I." Giles said before returning his glasses to his face. "I'm going downstairs to see the damage."

"I'm going to take another shower." Jenny said after running her fingers through her hair.

The group all looked at each other. Angel raised his eyebrows and started, "Well that was…"

"Bracing?" Buffy suggested.

"Yeah." Angel agreed.

"Well, I need to take a quick trip to the lou." Spike said and stood up. As soon as he walked out of the room, Buffy looked around.

"Who's Lou?" she asked, sounding utterly bewildered. The gang burst into laughter.

"Bathroom." Dawn managed.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

The gang just hung around the house for around two more hours before Spike had to leave.

As soon as the door shut behind him, Angel pulled Buffy off away from the group, into the bathroom.

"You didn't break up with him." he pointed out.

"Good job Captain States-the-Obvious." she replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Cause I'm not sure yet." she answered and turned to go. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Can't you be sure? Can I make you sure?" he asked as he stroked her cheek. She didn't move closer or pull away. He leaned in slowly and kissed her.

She fought her hardest not to kiss back. 'No! It was your own words! No Angel until you break up with Spike! He'll think you're a hypocrite! What if I hurt his feelings? What if he gets mad at me? Oh god he's such a good kisser.'

She gave in and wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on tip-toe to kiss him. He held her tightly, afraid that if he let go, he would lose her.

She ran her fingers through his hair and felt him put one hand under her butt to hold her up. She was beginning to feel light-headed from lack of air. She finally pulled away, but didn't let go of him.

They were both breathing heavily, trying to catch their breath.

"We have to…" Buffy began, then nodded to the door.

"Not yet. Please." Angel begged, still holding her up. Buffy looked from him to the door, and back to him then grinned.

"You win." she smiled. He lifted her onto the counter in the bathroom and stood between her legs, kissing her.

"You…are…a…great…kisser." Buffy whispered between kisses. Angel felt a smile of pride cross his face as he moved from her lips down to her neck. She gasped and held him even more tightly.

'Well, she's better then Darla. "Oh my god. OHHH ANGEL! DO IT MORE!" It was like sex. With a dying cow. Why did I ever go out with her? She was such a…immature dying cow.' Angel said to himself. 'Why am I thinking about her while I'm making out with Buffy?'

Buffy was so close to falling off the edge of the counter, she was leaning so far into Angel. This vaguely reminded her of when she was at Spike's house, and he had a few unexpected guests so that anytime they wanted to kiss they'd have to go into the bathroom…

She shook her head and kissed Angel's cheek.

"We really do have to…and plus I want to take another shower and see if this dye comes out." Buffy said raising an eyebrow at Angel. He looked her up and down and she turned bright red and slapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Out!" she said.

"Fine." he laughed.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

Buffy looked at her hair, very annoyed. It had a green tint so that it looked like she had spent too much time in a chlorine pool without showering. She sighed and pulled her hair into a pony-tail and put a base-ball cap on overtop.

The group finally went down to the beach to survey the damage.

"Well its not that bad." Willow raised an eyebrow. There were holes and heaps of sand, broken shells everywhere, clothing articles, and ripped tents littering the ground.

"I think they have some sort of clean-up crew. They should be here by tomorrow." Xander said.

"I vote we go back up to the house." Dawn said quietly.

"Agreed." Oz said, patting her shoulder.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

"So now what?" Buffy asked as she flopped down on the couch. Everyone was lounging around the living room with the stereo playing.

"Well, I have an idea." Cordelia said, raising an eyebrow.

"What's that?" Xander asked.

"Well, an idea is when—" Connor began.

"It's for the girls. We should go to a hair salon!" Cordelia exclaimed.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

The girls arrived at the salon just as the sky was beginning to get dark.

"What can I do for you girls? We're not crowded, so we can probably fit you all in." the lady behind the counter said. She was sucking on a large tootsie-pop that she took out of her mouth to talk.

"Well, I want my hair cut, shoulder length, please." Willow said, stepping forward.

"Ok, I'll get Meadow on that." she said and waved a middle aged blond over. Willow and the woman walked away and the lady turned back to them.

"I need this green dye out of my hair." Buffy said, pulling her hair out of the ponytail. The tootsie pop fell out of the woman's mouth and cracked on the floor.

"Ok. I'll do you. Wait here." she said, and looked expectantly at Dawn and Cordelia.

"I'm just gonna look around." Cordelia said and wandered towards the shampoos.

"I want highlights." Dawn said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

About an hour and a half later, the girls were all finished and paying up. Willow had the exact haircut she wanted, Buffy had a normal shade of blond hair coloring, and Dawn had a few subtle blond highlights streaking her hair.

When the girls got back to the house, it was totally dark.

"Do you think the guys would really just leave us like that?" Cordelia asked as she fumbled for her keys.

They got in and were greeted by the guys, all wearing nice clothes, and soft classical music.

Buffy's eyes immediately flew to Angel, who had his hair brushed back. She raised an eyebrow and held in a giggle.

"We decided to do something special." Xander explained as he put his arm around Cordy's waist. Every guy took his girlfriend and lead her upstairs. That left Buffy and Angel.

"Your hair." Buffy said, suppressing laughter. He rolled his eyes and put his arms around her waist.

"Wait." she said and put her fingers through his hair, mussing it around. "Much better."

She stood on tip-toes and kissing him softly. Then pulled away.

"Let's go."

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

The whole group was exhausted by the days goings on and went to bed at around midnight, only half an hour after Giles and Jenny got home.


	23. Chapter 22 Never Ending Day

**A/N: This chapter was written by Ozlover**

**A/N: Yeahhh, so we're sorry if this is a boring one..it gets better, we promise!**

Chapter 22- The Never-Ending Day

Oz tossed and turned restlessly on the couch. He sat up and looked at the clock on the kitchen. Three-thirty. He'd been awake for two hours, trying to fall back asleep after a loud crack of thunder woke him up. Then he'd starting thinking about Willow and couldn't manage to get to sleep.

He sighed in exasperation, layed back down and listened to the droning pitter patter of light rain on the roof. He shut his eyes in another attempt to fall asleep.

Without warning he felt a small body push against his. He recognized the feeling.

" Willow? Is that you?" He inquired of the figure. He was answered with a muffled sound.

"What are you doing here?" He asked quietly. Not that he was complaining or anything.

"I had a bad dream..."

"Yeah?"

Willow nodded. "There was scary demon clowns...a-and frogs." She added with a shiver.

"Frogs?" Oz asked gently.

"Yeah...I have frog fear." Willow admitted sheepishly. Oz smiled and put his arms around her waist.

"So you came here?" He asked.

"Uh-huh. Plus there were scary noises...I think it was just Buffy snoring, but it was scary snoring." Willow assured him.

"I bet it was." He pulled the covers over both of them and finally drifted off to sleep, praying that they wouldn't be awoken like yesterday.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

Willow stirred in Oz's arms. She could hear rain panging on the roof and people shuffling around the room. She sat up, which woke Oz. Willow looked around and saw Xander sitting on the other couch, looking smug.

"Your current situation is questionable..." He started. Willow raised an eyebrow, confused. "Like why were you two sleeping together?" He demanded in a mock serious tone.

"Not _together_ ..." Willow started, blushing furiously. "Shut up." She mumbled, getting off the couch and going into the kitchen. There she found Cordelia sitting at the table with a plate of bacon.

"You cooked that?" Willow asked in disbelief.

"This? No way. It's fifteen second microwavable." Cordelia answered. Willow cringed. Then again, how could she have expected Cordelia to have cooked something...an edible something...Nope. Not possible.

"So..." Cordelia started, trying to ease into conversation. "You were sleeping with Oz?" She asked bluntly, giving up on trying to ask casually.

"No!" Willow defended, blushing again. Cordelia just grinned.

"Sure..."

Just then Dawn entered the kitchen followed by a sleepy looking Buffy.

"Morning!" Dawn chirped.

"Bacon...?" Buffy mumbled groggily, rubbing her eyes. "You cooked? Why is the house not burnt down?"

"Hey! Shut up!" Cordelia crossed her arms defensively.

"Microwavable?" Dawn asked.

"Microwavable." Willow confirmed with a smirk.

After the four girls ate, they wandered into the living room. Angel, Oz, Xander and Connor were sitting on the couches, watching the news.

"Jeez. Is this ever gonna stop?" Cordelia asked after watching the TV for a few moments. Another girl had gone missing in the area.

Xander sighed. "The rapist guy must still be around. That pretty much kills my plans."

"Plans? You had plans?" Connor asked, looking over at Xander.

"Yeah, I figured we could all go to the movies tonight. See something scary." Xander answered.

"We still could." Buffy spoke up. Everyone turned to see what she had to say. "I mean, we'd just go straight to the theaters then back here, right? Seems pretty safe to me."

Everyone considered this for a moment. "You're right. It's not like we'd be wandering the streets or anything." Angel agreed.

"Now all we have to do is convince my parents..."

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

"Absolutely not." Giles answered, taking off his glasses to wipe them with the hem of his shirt.

"But we'd go straight to the movies and back. No where else!" Xander pleaded.

Jenny was silent, contemplating their request. She spoke up. "I guess it would be okay...If you all stuck together and didn't go anywhere but the theater..."

Giles placed his glasses back on and gave Jenny a dissapproving look.

"What?" She asked. "Don't you trust them?" Jenny teased. Giles looked from Jenny, to the pleading faces of the eight teenagers, then back to Jenny.

"Fine..." He grumbled, turning to walk away.

"Yes!" Xander pumped his fist in the air triumphantly.

Dawn reached over and grabbed the morning newspaper off the coffee table and opened it up. She turned past various articles about the hurricane, the rapist, lost dogs and car sales. She scanned over the movie listings for their area.

"What do you guys wanna see?" She asked.

"I dunno...How about i>_The Skeleton Key_ /i>? That looks kinda scary." Buffy suggested. Everyone agreed on the movie.

"The movie doesn't start until nine o'clock tonight." Dawn said, not looking up from the paper. "What do you guys wanna do until then?"

"The beach is pretty much out of the question. The county is still cleaning up the debris." Oz said, quoting what he'd heard on the television.

"What about the pool?" Willow asked.

"Well...At the moment it's filled with dirt and debris..."

"Eww." Cordelia replied, scrunching up her nose. "We could go shopping!" The guys all groaned.

"But you _always_ do that." Angel said.

"Hey, we're girls. It's what we do best."

"Kids?" Jenny's voice floated into the room. "Could you stay upstairs for a little while? People are coming to drain the basement, and I don't want anyone getting in their way."

"Sure, Mom." Xander replied. Just then, their was a knock on the door, and a bunch of men wearing black suits carrying various tools and supplies appeared. The teens went upstairs, but not before grabbing the PS2 and a couple controllers to bring with them. Minutes later, loud sucking noises could be heard from downstairs. Connor got up to close the door, in an attempt to drown out the noise. It sort of worked.

About an hour later, the noises stopped and the teens ventured downstairs. They peered into the basement. It was a complete and total mess. Debris was strewn about al over the floor, the couch was soggy and discolored and pieces of the wooden stairs were missing, somewhere on the floor. Xander was about to go down, when Cordelia grabbed him by the arm and stopped him.

"What are you doing?" She asked incredulously.

"I was going to go down there and check it out..." He answered, confusion written all over his face.

"How can you be so stupid?" Cordelia sighed loudly. Xander looked hurt. She softened her voice and added. "The stairs are rotten. You would've fallen right through." Xander grinned, understanding.

"See? You really do care. You just couldn't bear to watch me fall." He grinned slyly.

"Whatever you say..." Cordelia said, grinning as well.

"So, what are we doing?" Connor asked.

"Shopping." Buffy chirped, grabbing her purse from the coffee table. "We should probably leave now, you know, to beat the crowds." The girls said their goodbyes and left for the mall.

"Is it just me, or do they go shopping way too much?" Xander sighed.

"That they do." Oz answered.

"I mean, it's not like they don't have enough clothes." Xander really wished he and Cordelia spent more time as a couple, as did the other guys with thier significant other. The other guys nodded, agreeing.

"Who's up for a round of Monkey Ball?" Angel asked suddenly. The guys exchanged glances.

"Last one there has to be the pink monkey!" Connor shouted before scrambling off the couch and up the stairs, where the PS2 still was.

x0x0x0x At the mall x0x0x0x

The girls strutted along the main area of the mall, laughing at something Buffy had just said.

A man dressed in black leaned on the wall next to a store leaking with cigarette smoke and heavy metal music. The brunnette caught his eye. Tall and leggy, just like he liked them. It would be her. It had to be. Looking at her made him more impatient by the second...

x0x0x0x At the House x0x0x0x

"Why do i>I /i> have to be the pink monkey?" Xander whined as he stared with disgust at the little pink blob with a tail and eyes passed off as a monkey.

"Slow reflexes?" Oz suggested, grinning slightly. Xander glared at Oz menacingly.

"What? Pink is a good color for you." Angel added, smirking. Xander dropped his controller and pounced on Angel, starting a wrestling match between all four guys.

About two hours and a hundred smart remarks later the guys had settled down and were playing video games again.

" We should've expected to find you guys here" Buffy remarked teasingly as she walked into the room followed by Willow, Dawn and Cordelia, all with shopping bags in tow.

"Well, it's not like there's anything better to do around here." Xander mumbled.

"True." Buffy said as she sat down next to Angel. "This is soo boring." Buffy sighed after a few minutes of watching the guys play video games.

"Yeah. Let's go put our clothes away." Dawn suggested as she stood up. The other three girls sat up as well and followed her out the doors. Angel raised an eyebrow, then turned to watch Oz once again beat Connor by a hair.

Buffy and Willow went into their room and Dawn and Cordelia went into theirs.

"So..." Willow started, knowing exactly what she wanted to say to her best friend, but now knowing how to word it. "What do you think is gonna happen at the movies. With you and Angel, I mean." Buffy glanced up from a pink ruffley mini-skirt with a matching sequined brown belt she was folding. She grinned devilishly, not saying a word. Willow giggled. "I see..."

"And you know you're gonna be doing the same thing with Oz." Buffy's smirk grew and she watched Willow's face turn a pretty shade of pink.

"Shut up." Willow defended, grinning. "So, Spike's not an issue tonight?"

The truth was, Buffy had actually thought about inviting him to the movies with them tonight, but decided against it. "Nope. Tonight's all about happy Buffy time. And Angel..time." She grinned again, the thought of having 'happy time' with Angel made her tingle all over.

Outside, the gray, cloudy sky opened up and a light, steady rain began to fall. Thunder rumbled slightly in the distance; the sound slowly cascaded towards the house as the storm grew closer.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x

Connor sighed loudly and threw his controller down- Defeated again. "Oz, you're the master. How do you always beat me?"

Oz shrugged. "Practice, I guess."

Xander peeled himself off the bean bag chair he was laying on. "The girls are right. This is boring." He walked out of the door and down the stairs, followed by the other guys. A surprise awaited them. The men wearing black suits were still there, but they were in the process of gathering their tools and leaving. Jenny appeared from the kitchen.

"You kids can go swimming if you want." She suggested. "I'll bring some snacks out. You didn't have lunch, did you?"

"Huh?" Xander was clearly lost, as were the other guys. "But I thought the pool was..."

"Fixed. These guys drained it and cleaned the crap out. Too bad it cost me an arm and a leg..." Jenny trailed off before retreating back into the kitchen. She reappeared seconds later. "Oh, and I wouldn't worry about the storm. It's not close yet."

The guys exchanged glances and shrugged before rushing up the stairs in an unorderly way, tripping over one another and yelling for the girls. Two girls appeared in each of the two rooms the guys passed.

"What are you guys yelling about?" Willow asked, smiling.

"We can go swimming!" Xander yipped excitedly in a voice similar to one of a child on Christmas morning. The girls giggled at his enthusiasm.

"Okay, okay." Buffy laughed. "We're as good as there." She closed the door to the room. The rest of the teens went into their rooms to change as well. They met downstairs.

"Uh, I know this sounds stupid, but, should we be swimming during a thunderstorm?" Dawn asked, a trace of nervousness was evident in her voice. Connor placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Xander's mom said that the storm isn't that close. It'll be fine." He assured her. Dawn smiled up at him.

Within seconds everyone was in the pool, splashing and having a great time, ignoring the light rumbles of thunder that could be heard every now and then. Jenny came out and brought them some finger sandwiches, cheetos and potato salad.

"Thanks, Mom." Xander said through a mouth stuffed to capacity with food. Jenny just smiled and went back inside. Unbeknowst to the teens, Beans was plopped underneath one of the tables, eating scraps that they, usually Xander, dropped. Three cheetos fell to the ground and Beans barked gruffly and sent Connor scooting back in his chair. He looked under the table.

"It's just Beans." He sighed, his heart still racing. Angel was trying not to laugh. Unfortunately, he couldn't hold it in, and he let out a half laugh, half snorting sound. Connor reached over the table and punched him on the arm, upset that Angel was making him look like a baby in front of Dawn.

"Oww." Angel gingerly rubbed at the already redish purple mark on his upper arm. Suddenly, Angel jumped up, grabbed a writhing, struggling Connor out of his chair and tossed him ungracefully into the pool. Angel doubled over, laughing. He didn't see Connor resurface, grab his leg and yank him in. By now, everyone was laughing, including Connor and Angel. The other teens abandoned their paper plates and drinks and jumped in.

After a few minutes of mindless splashing and attacking they decided to play Marco Polo. They went through the whole 'not it' process and Buffy was it.

"Marco?" She asked, wandering around the shallow end of the pool aimlessly. Angel held a finger to his lips, making sure everyone esle saw him. He slowly crept up behind Buffy, jerking away every now and then when she sensed someone near her.

"Marco?" Buffy asked again, receiving no answer. "You guys, this isn't fair!" She whined. Angel raised his arms up, ready to wrap them around her, when...

CRACK! Lightening struck less than twenty feet away, on the shore somewhere. A loud, sickening crack had followed, practically at the same time as the flash of lightening. Buffy shrieked and jumped into the closest thing to her- Which was Angel. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her out.

The other guys all grabbed their girlfriends. Buffy and Willow seemed to be the most shaken up. The guys quickly ushered the shivering girls inside the house just as the wind picked up.They glanced outside to see their plates fall off the tables and skitter around on the ground. The wind continued to grow stronger, picking up a few towels that had been left draped over chairs.

Then Cordelia remembered. "Beans!" She rushed outside and grabbed the dog, who was huddled in the corner, whimpering. Cordelia struggled to bring him inside, seeing as how Beans wasn't exactly light-weight. Xander went out and helped her bring him in.

"Is everyone okay?" Jenny demanded of the teens. The guys nodded. "I'm so sorry...I didn't think it was moving so fast..." She apologized.

"Don't worry about it, Mom. We're all okay." Jenny nodded and went upstairs.

"Hey." Oz said soothingly to the shaking girl in his arms. "Are you okay?" Willow didn't answer, just whimpered. Buffy was the same. Angel and Oz led their girlfriends to the couch and sat down with them. Dawn and Cordelia weren't phased anymore, nor was anyone esle, really. Xander left and returned with two fluffy forest green blankets that he handed to the dripping girls.

"What's wrong? Buffy, you were like this yesterday and now Willow is too." Cordelia asked, concerned for her best friends. Buffy looked over at Willow who looked down.

"It was just something...That happened when we were ten." Willow said quietly. Oz wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a look that prodded her to continue.

"Buffy and I were in Oklahoma, visiting her grandparents." She paused. "And there was a tornado warning. The warning sorta became a...watch." She paused again, her voice quivering.

"I remember that! I got to stay up with Mom and watch the weather channel all night." Dawn piped up, then quieted, waiting for one of the girls to go on.

"I thought we were gonna die for sure." Buffy whispered.

"We almost did." Willow said seriously. There was a long, deep silence. Buffy spoke up.

"I remember watching it come towards the house. I wasn't supposed to see it...I was supposed to be in the bathroom with Willow. They didn't have a basement." She paused, taking a breath. "I remember watching this huge oak tree, the one that I played on when I was little, just get sucked up into the blackess." She waved her arms around for effect.

"Wow." Was all anyone could say. Buffy and Willow continued to loosen up bit by bit, but were still a little jumpy whenever there was a crash of thunder. The other teenagers arranged themselves around the living room, on the couches and on the floor curled up in blankets. Oz grabbed the remote off the coffee table, which Turtle was snoozing under, oblivious to everything that had happened. He clicked the television on. It was the news. As usual. News about the rapist..as usual.

Apparently, one was still lurking around somewhere. No one had been killed lately. It seemed as though the killer was laying low for the time being.

"Well, that's a plus. We don't need any surprises at the movie theater tonight." Buffy said. She and Willow were feeling much better, especially since the thunder and lightening let up and now it was only pounding rain.

"This is sooo boring." Dawn sighed, placing her face in her hands. She perked up. "I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back." She kicked Connor, who was sitting on the floor by the couch she was on, right in the side.

"Oww, what was that for?" Connor asked, rubbing his side. Dawn didn't answer, just disappeared upstairs. A few moments later, the light bulb turned on. "I, uh, need something upstairs.." He got up from his place on the floor and stretched his aching legs out.

"Yeah, yeah. Just keep your shorts on." Xander grinned as he patted Connor's back. Connor looked back menacingly on his way up the stairs and the girls started to giggle.

"Ugh, what do you guys wanna do?" Cordelia asked as she absent mindedly twirled a strand of her long, dark hair around her finger.

"Well, we could always opt for the same path Dawn and Connor took..." Xander stated innocently. Cordelia reached over and smacked his arm. "Although I prefer broom closets over bathrooms. Too slippery." Cordelia smacked him again, grinning. Buffy and Angel shared a secret smile at the thought of bathrooms. A sudden slamming noise sounded upstairs.

"Oh, dear God..." Buffy buried her face in her hands, shuddering at the thought of what her little sister was doing up there. What she sort of wished she was up there doing...with Angel...She couldn't wait to get to the movie theater.

Meanwhile, upstairs in the bathroom, Dawn and Connor were really going at it.

Dawn hissed as Connor turned around and pushed her into the wall, none too gently, either.

"Sorry, Baby." He mumbled, nipping at her neck lightly. Dawn giggled, seeing as how she was extremely ticklish. Connor pulled back and gave her a confused look.

"I'm ticklish." She continued to giggle. Connor nodded in understanding before diving at her, kissing her fiercly. This caught Dawn off guard, but she greeted his mouth with equal force and passion. Her hands wandered to his shirt hem. She ran her hands up his chest and raked her fingernails softly down over and over again. Connor shivered at her touch and pulled her closer. Connor tried his luck doing the same. Only he reached up farther, hoping to feel her chest. Dawn pulled away quickly, her face flushed and breathing heavily.

"Huh?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't of..." Connor said hurriedly, hoping he hadn't upset or offended her.

"It's okay.. I. just really wasn't expecting that." Dawn breathed. She ran her hand through her hair once. "Maybe we should go back downstairs. They might be suspicious." Dawn said after a few seconds of awkward silence. Connor nodded, still worried that he'd overstepped his boundaries with her.

"Look, I'm sorry if I-"

Dawn cut him off with a light, sweet kiss. "Don't worry about it. It's fine." They both smiled before heading back downstairs.

"The bathroom sink's still intact, right?" Xander asked slyly. Dawn blushed slightly and Connor rolled his eyes.

Buffy glanced at her watch. "We've still got three and a half hours left 'til the movie." She really wanted to turn the topic of conversation away from her sister and Connor. Just the thought of them...It gave her a major case of the wiggins.

"We could go swimming again." Connor suggested.

"No." Willow squeaked, burying her face in Oz's shoulder. Buffy just shook her head furiously.

"Or not..."

"Ooh! I've got an idea!" Xander said excitedly.

"Does it have to do with broom closets, because--" Cordelia started. Xander cut her off with an icy glare. She shrugged and gave him a innocent smile.

"Anyway...How about the girls put on a modeling show for the guys!" Xander suggested, grinning. Cordelia rolled her eyes, as did the other girls.

"What? It's a good idea..." Xander pretended to pout.

"And what, exactly, did you plan on us modeling?" Cordelia asked skeptically.

"Well...you know...Anything...Lace is good."

Cordelia reached over and smacked him. He grinned sheepishly.

"Any i>_other_ /i> ideas?" Willow asked. Everyone looked around expectantly. She sighed. "Back to square one I guess..."

"What about the jet skis? Aren't they in the shed out back?" Dawn asked.

"Oh yeah...We could take those out." Angel suggested.

"Jet skis means water, which means being outside." Buffy said, her eyes growing wide. Angel tightened his grip around her waist.

"I won't let you get hurt, I promise." Buffy looked up into his big brown eyes and knew he wasn't lying. She smiled.

"K. If you promise."

Everyone lazily dragged themselves from the couch and off the ground and headed outside. The beach had been cleaned up early that morning by workers the city had sent out. The girls drifted off to the shoreline while the guys headed to the shed to get the two jet skis. Angel and Connor carried one while Xander and Oz took the other.

"Man, those things don't get any lighter." Oz said, panting, as were the other guys. They sky had lightened up a bit and there was only a light drizzle of rain that made a tiny pitter-pattering sound on the water. Not that it could even be heard over the roar of the jet skis and the screaming and laughter of the eight teenagers. They stayed out for about two hours before heading back in.

"Yay! Only an hour 'til movie time!" Buffy chirped to Willow before more quietly adding: "And Angel smoochie time." Both of the girls giggled. Cordelia came up behind them.

"C'mon guys. We need to get the perfect outfits together for tonight!" She said, excited that they were getting ready to do something they'd been waiting all day to do. All four girls disappeared upstairs to shower and change.

Connor sighed. "You know we're not going to see them until five minutes before we leave, right?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Oz replied.

Xander snorted. "Women..."

x0x0xUpstairsx0x0x0

"Which skirt goes better with this shirt?" Willow asked, holding up a dark green halter top.

"Hmm..." Cordelia started, examining her choices."I'd say, go with the black demin mini-skirt and a pair of flip-flops so it's simple."

"Thanks, Cor." Willow said smiling. "You always know how to fix a fashion disaster."

"That's what I'm here for." Cordelia smiled, proud of her great fashion sense. She glanced over at Buffy.

"Buffy, Buffy, Buffy! What are you doing? That lip gloss does _not_ go with the shade of your shirt color! "Cordelia rushed over to help a slightly frazzled looking Buffy. Willow smiled helpessly at the blonde as Cordelia scolded her. "I thought I taught you better..." Cordelia mumbled, shuffling through Buffy's make-up bag and top dresser drawer, which was filled with accessories and other random beauty supplies.

x0x0xAn hour later..x0x0x

The guys had taken turns showering in the downstairs bathroom, since the entire upstairs was the girls' territory. They had all changed into fresh clothes and were waiting a bit impatiently for the girls to get downstairs so they could leave. Finally, they made an appearance.

"It took you long enough..." Xander mumbled. Cordelia glared at him. "Not that it didn't pay off! 'Cause you look great..." He grinned innocently.

"C'mon." Cordelia grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out the door, followed by the other teens. They took both Oz's van and Cordelia's car instead of cramming everyone into one vehicle.

They made it to the theater ten minutes before the movie started, so they headed to the concession stand for snacks and drinks. There was a good number of people waiting in line, so Angel and Connor volunteered to get everyone a seat.

_Okay, Buffy_ She said to herself. _It's time to leave all Spike-related thoughts at the door._ She knew she could handle it...Until she spotted him leaning casually against a wall by a group of arcade games and sticker machines. He was wearing a leather duster and a black shirt and pants. His piercing blue eyes scanned the area, apparently looking for someone. Buffy prayed that he wouldn't see her.

Buffy made a small squeaking noise before tapping Willow on the shoulder.

"What? Oh...not good." Willow was sympathetic for her friend. "Just ignore him, and uh...don't make eye contact."

Buffy nodded feebly and tried to squeeze herself farther into her group of friends, hoping to go unnoticed by Spike. If only she was so lucky. She'd only glanced up once, curious if he was still there, which he was. He locked gazes with her for a split second before she dropped her gaze, became uncomfortable and tried to push even further into the crowd.

" 'Ello, Luv." He said as he approached her.

"Hey." She smiled brilliantly, completely covering the fact that she wanted nothing more than to become an ostrich, stick her head deep into the ground and become dead to the world. He leaned in for a kiss and she almost backed up. Instead, she gave in and kissed him gently on the lips.

"What's the up? Are you waiting for someone?" Buffy asked with as much casualness that she could muster up.

"Actually, yes. Me and some of my mates are going to see some flick...I can't put my finger on the name. Some chop and hack thing..." He trailed off, raking a pale hand decorated with death black fingernails through his peroxide hair.

A sick feeling gripped Buffy's stomach with a ferocious stubborness. She couldn't seem to shake it off. "Um, is it The Skeleton Key?" Buffy asked, silently praying that it wasn't. _I might as well kiss all my fantasties of tonight's Angel smooch-fest goodbye... _

"No, that's not it...Is that what you're seeing? 'Cause I'm sure I could convince my buddies to switch shows." He offered.

"No, no. That's...That's okay." She smiled sweetly. His arms moved toward her and englulfed her inside their warmth. She sighed. He smelled faintly of cigarette smoke, possibly mixed with some other drugs. She figured it was from his creepy friends she met in the mall.

"You sure?" He asked, turning her around to face him. She nodded.

"You should go with your friends. Eat. Drink. Be merry. But not too merry. I don't know if I can handle an overly merry boyfriend." They shared a smile. Spike looked up when he noticed a bunch of kids with weird colored hair wearing all black clothing.

"There they are." He observed. He looked back into Buffy's eyes. "Are you sure, Pet? I mean, I'm sure I could--"

Buffy cut him off with a curt shake of her head. "Go." She smiled. "I'll see you later."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

With that, Spike turned and headed toward the ever growing group of strangle looking teens. He glanced back once, to find that Buffy had already walked back to her friends, and was lost in a sea of people.

When Buffy reached the group she caught Willow's gaze and made a gesture with her hands of a gun with the trigger being pulled at her head. She then stuck her tongue out and closed her eyes as if she was dead. Willow giggled and grabbed her hand and pulled her along with the others as they headed for the theater.

"Are you okay? 'Cause you seem okay..." Willow whispered to Buffy when they sat down in the cushioned seats.

"Well, I know I'm gonna feel guilty if I do anything with Angel tonight..But I'm so pumped, Will. I've been waiting all night for this." Buffy grinned.

"I hope everything works out the way you want." Willow flashed her a special best-friend smile. The kind that let the receiver of the smile know that they've got a friend who's always going to be there. Buffy squeezed Willow's hand quickly.

The lights began to dim and the audience's voices hushsed to a mere murmer as the previews began to play. During that ten minutes, all the guys sat together, as did all the girls. Of course, that all changed when the movie started.

Willow surprised everyone by being the first to stand up, walk over to the guys, yank her boyfriend from his seat and disappear from sight into another row of chairs. Cordelia soon followed, catching Xander, who was preocuppied counting how many blue gummy bears he had, completely off-guard. Dawn was next, taking Connor to a dark corner somewhere. Buffy shuddered at the thought. Man, was Dawn growing up fast...

"Hey."

Buffy jumped slightly, surprised by the sudden voice. She smiled in return. _Breathe Buffy, breathe._

"So..." Angel started quietly.

"Yeah..." _In, out, in, out..._

Suddenly Angel reached over and took both of her hands in his. "Would you be incredibly offended if I kissed you right now?"

"Offended? No. A little shocked maybe--"

He cut her off with a long, lingering kiss. He lifted a strong, yet gentle hand to her cheek and caressed her face slowly. The kiss deepened and he picked Buffy up and carefully placed her in his lap. He stroked her hair, her back and her cheeks. She let him slip his tongue into her mouth and explore it fully. She was in a state of pure, Heaven-sent bliss.

x0x0xBack at the housex0x0x

"Wow, that was better than I thought." Connor said when they walked through the door.

"Yeah, better than I thought..." Buffy mumbled dreamily, but loud enough for the others to hear. Cordelia nudged her arm. "The movie! Was...good. Better...Than I thought, actually." She finished lamely. Her cheeks began to burn. Willow rescued her by grabbing her arm and dragging her upstairs. Cordelia and Dawn, both giggling ran upstairs after them. The guys could hear girly squealing and what sounded like excited, repetetant jumping. About ten minutes later, the four girls returned downstairs, looking jittery and bubbly to say the least. Everyone gathered in the living room and Xander turned the TV on, but they quickly lost interest with everything that was on, and decided to head to bed.

"I call the bathroom first!" Dawn said, before sprinting up the stairs with Buffy close behind.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!"

"Oh, goodie." Cordelia muttered before trudging up the stairs. "I better have enough sink and mirror space to apply my moisturizing face mask!" She threatended.

"Well, we're off. Be good." Xander stared at Willow mock-sternly. She blushed and looked down. Xander moved forward and gace her a quick hug. "G'night" He said, before heading upstairs. A few moments later, Connor and Angel followed him.

That left Willow and Oz. Oz sat down on the couch first, then pulled Willow on top of him so that she was sitting in his lap.

"Have I told you lately that I love you?" Oz mumbled the words of some old love song into Willow's hair. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Ya know...That movie we saw was pretty scary." Willow said sweetly, pulling back to look him in the eyes.

"Agreed." Oz gave the slightest nod.

"I might get nightmares." She replied simply. Oz sat up a little straighter, catching on to what she was getting at.

"Nightmares are of the bad."

"They are. So, maybe I should just...you know...stay down here tonight?" She asked innocently, hoping he'd say yes and not think she was desperate or anything.

"Seems reasonable." He gave her a small half smile. "Seeing as how you'd come down anyway."

"Right. I might trip or something in the dark, so...This is good." Willow smiled.

"Very good." Oz corrected, kissing her lightly on the lips.

"Better than very good." She grinned. He leaned into her neck and mumbled:

"I love you."

"I love you too." She whispered back, hugging him tighter. He let go of her for a moment, to grab a blanket off the back of the couch and two pillows off the floor. He reached over and turned off the lamp that sat on a stand next to the couch.

"Night." He said sleepily. She muttered something unintelligable, already half asleep.

The teenagers fell alseep to the soft murmer of the rain falling, just as they'd awoken to it. They were completely unaware of the events that would befall them the very next day.


	24. Chapter 23 Caught!

**A/N: This chapter was written by Willowzlilsecret.**

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long to be posted...I was on vacation and I just got back so yeahh.. I'm sorry if that caused any inconvenience for anyone...but now it's posted and it's chock full o' angsty fun. Well, not funfor the characters, I'd suppose..but I dont want to ramble on...:)Ozlover.**

Chapter Twenty-Three: Caught

Amazingly, the group slept in late and by the time they were up, Giles was gone, breakfast was on the table and Jenny was outside on the deck, tanning.

Oz and Willow were the first up, as usual. They sat down in front of their pancakes, and looked at each other, not really saying anything. Suddenly Oz reached over the table and grasped Willow's hand. He brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them.

"I love you." he said softly. Ever since they had told each other how they felt…with the love…he had been a bit more affectionate. She did a half smile before leaning over the table. Their lips met and Willow caressed Oz's face softly.

Connor banged down the stairs with Xander and the couple pulled apart just as the boys walked in.

"Oh! Pancakes! What a pleasant surprise!" Xander smiled as he sat down. He had the distinct impression that he and Connor had interrupted something. He ate quickly and he, Connor, and Oz went into the living room to watch TV. Willow cleaned up the four used plates before pulling a magazine off the countertop. She sat down at the table again and began reading.

Dawn and Cordelia came down next and they all discussed the latest scandals of the star world. Then the three of them cleaned up and went into the living room with the guys. Buffy was next down and she saw that Angel wasn't up yet.

She went into the kitchen and ate very slowly, counting to 50 before she swallowed, hoping that she would be able to talk to Angel. Sure enough her fifth bite in, there he was. He sat down, wearing only grey sweatpants. (they weren't the kind that get all tight and funky at the bottom) His black boxers were peaking out from the top of his pants. His hair was messy and he looked half asleep.

Buffy switched seats and went down right next to him. She wrapped her hands around his upper arm. "Good morning."

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye before taking another bite of pancake. "You're very happy this morning." he observed.

"Yeah, well I get to spend time with you…why wouldn't I be?" Buffy asked as she kissed his shoulder. He glanced at her again and took a big bite of pancake.

"I don't like this syrup." he said suddenly and put his fork on the table.

"I kinda want to talk to you." Buffy said and then kissed him softly on the neck.

"Oh really?" he said softly and pulled her onto his lap. He kissed her softly on the lips and nipped her bottom lip. She squeaked, but quickly kissed him back, snaking her tongue into his mouth.

His hands slipped from her shoulders down to her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Angel finally pulled away and trailed kissed down from her mouth down to her neck and down to the top of her cami. She gasped and then moments later his mouth found his way back to hers.

Buffy was feeling very nervous. She felt like (even though he wasn't there) Spike would walk in at any moment and catch her. Suddenly she felt herself rubbing up against Angel. She tried to stop, but part of her didn't want to.

"Oh god." she whispered. Angel kissed her ear and pulled her closer.

"Nah, I'm just an Angel." he joked before kissing her again on the neck. She knew from the amount of kissing and sucking on her neck, there would be a hickey. She'd just have to make out with Spike in a dark room so that he'd think it was his fault. Or get really good cover-up.

"My GOD!" Connor exclaimed as he came in the kitchen to get some coke. Buffy jumped and let go of Angel.

"Uh, hi." Buffy said feebly.

"I'll just pretend this never happened." Connor said, backing away. "Just…proceed or whatever."

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

Buffy decided on wearing a silky scarf around her neck for the rest of the day. And since everyone was bored out of their minds, Buffy agreed when Spike asked to come over.

Almost immediately she regretted it. She'd end up making out with him and making both of the guys mad.

The doorbell rang and Buffy rushed to get it. She pulled Spike in.

"Come on. We're going upstairs." she whispered. He raised an eyebrow, but followed wordlessly.

She pulled him into her room and he immediately began kissing her.

'Well, this might work out after all.' she smiled. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him onto her bed. He shifted so he fell next to her, instead of on her. She suddenly began giggling again, but quieted up.

She pulled him close and kissed him lightly. He kissed her neck and shoulder and pushed away the strap of her camisole to continue kissing her. She closed her eyes and just enjoyed it. Soon he was reaching for the scarf. She held her breath, hoping he wouldn't notice it.

"What is this?" he asked. "Who is it…?"

"Willow." Buffy said quickly then mentally kicked herself.

"You two are…doing…that?" he asked. She tried not to panic, thinking quickly.

"I thought you meant the scarf. The scarf is Willow's." Buffy said.

"Ok, well I meant the hickey on your neck." he raised an eyebrow and eyed her suspiciously.

"Well, it's obviously from you." she said, smiling. He seemed to accept it. She sighed in relief and let him continue kissing her.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

Jenny had finally came in from tanning and explained to the gang that she was going to a dinner party with Giles.

"So I'm just going to be getting ready and Giles should be home soon. After I take my shower I'm going to make some lunch for you and then I'll finish up. Now why don't you hurry along to the beach a while." Jenny said and shooed them out of the house.

They all went down to the beach, which was looking a lot cleaner.

"I'm going seashell hunting." Angel announced and walked away, searching the ground.

"I'm swimming." Dawn said and stripped down before running out to the ocean. Connor followed her.

Xander, Cordelia, Willow, and Oz decided to throw a Frisbee together. Which left Spike and Buffy.

"I don't really have my swim trunks." Spike pointed out as Buffy took off her clothes.

"Oh right." she said. She pulled her shorts back on, but left her shirt off. "Wanna walk?"

"Sure." they walked down the beach, their fingers entwined.

"Spike." Buffy spoke first.

"What is it pet?" he asked, noticing a hint of worry in her voice.

"I…I have a problem." she said, turning to him. They both stopped walking.

"I'll do what I can to help." Spike said, putting his hands on her shoulders. She looked down.

"I think that I'm in love with you…and someone else." she confessed.

"Oh." was all Spike could manage.

"And I really, really love you, but he means a lot to me too, and…and I just don't know what to do." Buffy said, tears filling her eyes.

"Well, do you want my advice as your boyfriend? Or as just some random guy?" Spike asked.

"How about as my boyfriend?" Buffy tried.

"You should pick me. Now how about the advice from the random guy?" Spike suggested, chuckling lightly.

"I pick that one." she joked.

"Follow your heart. Wherever it takes you." he said simply.

"Th-thank you." she sobbed. He pulled her into his arms. She kissed him softly for the last time.

"I'll be seeing you." he said as she pulled away. He still held her hand, but she walked away.

Soon only their fingertips were touching.

"Bye." she said and turned away, holding back the heart wrenching sobs building inside her.

"I love you.." Spike whispered and buried his head in his hands to cry.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

Buffy didn't tell anyone that she and Spike had broken up, and kept it to herself. About an hour later everyone went back to the house and ate their sandwiches.

"Where'd Spike get to?" Xander asked. Buffy's stomach did a flip-flop at the sound of Spike's name.

"He…Something came up." she said and decided she was no longer hungry.

"I'm gonna take a nap." she announced and left.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

_Empty spaces…fill me up with holes…_

Buffy lay on her bed, the radio playing. She had just woken up from a refreshing nap and left the radio on.

_Distant faces…with no place left to go_

She noticed that every time she turned on the radio, a song always related to Spike.

_Without you, within me…I cant find no rest_

And of course so did this one

_Where I'm going is anybody's guess_

She wondered if she had made the right choice, in letting Spike go.

_I tried to go on like I never knew you_

She would now have Angel…

_I'm awake but my world is half asleep_

But was Angel enough?

_I pray for this heart to be unbroken_

As she realized she might've make the worst mistake of her life her heart broke into a thousand tiny pieces

_But without you all I'm going to be is incomplete_

And what hurt more was that she wasn't sure if Angel would be able to pick them up without getting hurt.

_Voices tell me I should carry on_

She wasn't sure if she could go on, pretending that she never met the perfect man

_But I am swimming in an ocean all alone_

She felt so alone. She couldn't talk to anyone about it

_Baby my baby its written on your face_

She couldn't take it anymore. The last part of the song was cut off when she turned the radio down.

_You still wonder if we made a big mistake_

Was it a mistake?

She went downstairs and was greeted by a lecture giving Jenny. She plopped down on a couch to listen.

"Ok kids, we really do have to go, I made dinner, and its on the table. I just want someone to walk the dogs and then all of you to stay in the house. All this uproar about the rapist 'finishing what was started.' It's insane really. Just, be careful. I really wish we didn't have to go. I feel like a terrible parent leaving you young children here alone." Jenny said as she put in her earrings and adjusted her shoes.

The whole group was sitting on the couches in front of her and she stood in front of the TV. They all nodded and Dawn, Cordy, Connor, and Xander all got up to walk the dogs.

"Well, leaving now." she said and kissed Xander and Willow on the cheek. Giles walked down the stairs, looking very spiffy indeed. He linked arms with Jenny and the two of them left, after a short lecture from Giles about safety precautions.

Then Cordy, Xander, Dawn and Connor left, leaving the rest of the teens alone.

"We're just gonna..." Willow pointed up the stairs and took Oz's hand. Buffy's eyebrows shot up. She thought she'd never see the day.

Buffy turned to Angel. "So…" she said, looking at him slyly while tracing circles on the couch with her finger.

"So…" he repeated, looking at her as well. Soon neither of them could wait any longer. They leaned into each other and kissed. Buffy deepened the kiss.

She soon found herself straddling Angel's lap and kissing him. She heard the door open and jumped away.

She ended up on the floor next to Turtle, who gave her a disapproving grunt before settling again. Xander came in with the rest of the dogs, followed by Connor, Dawn, and Cordy. Beans and Snoopy were falling over one another to get to Buffy first.

"I thought they had gotten over that phase." Buffy sighed as the dogs jumped all over her, licking her and yipping happily.

Angel helped her up and shooed the dogs off to the kitchen where Dawn was putting out some fresh water and food.

"Looks like another storm a-brewin'." Xander said as he plopped down on the couch.

"Yikes, definitely what we don't need." Buffy said, biting her bottom lip nervously. The rest of the teens exchanged glances, but decided to leave it alone.

"Where's Willow and Oz?" Dawn asked as she returned to the living room. Buffy raised an eyebrow and smiled mysteriously. Moments later everyone had figured it out.

"Jeez. Are we talking about Willow? Our Willow?" Cordelia joked.

"That's exactly what I thought." Buffy agreed. Willow and Oz emerged from the stairs, having heard the rest of the group get home. She had her hands entwined with Oz's and she looked a little dazed.

"Hi guys." she said dreamily, waving with her free hand. Oz winked at Xander quickly, unnoticed by anyone else. Xander cringed at the thought of his little cousin…

The two sat down and the group sat in silence. Suddenly the lights flickered.

"Told you there was a storm coming." Xander said. Rain had started a soft steady pitter-patter on the roof and windows. So far there was no thunder or lighting that they noticed.

"Well, lets watch some TV a while." Angel said, turning on the TV. It was on the news.

"So, in case of any worries you might be having, no, this is not a hurricane. It's just aftermath. Now back to Michelle." said a woman wearing a poncho and holding a microphone up to her mouth. The screen cut in half to a woman wearing a suit and sitting in a news room.

"Thank you Sarah. And now to the top story of the day." she started, and the screen was fully turned over to her.

"Ooh! We get the top story!" Xander joked as he leaned in. The lights flickered again and he looked up, fairly nervous, but turned his attention back to the TV.

"Now, as you know, the former rapist and murderer, Joe Sanchez was caught a while back. But it seems that he has someone 'finishing the job'. The NC police have been trying to keep this out of people's notice, but the more girls that turn up missing, the more questions there are. One policeman from the center of North Carolina is here for vacation and was called on the case. Here's from Mr. Giles." she said. The teens exchanged looks.

"I didn't know Uncle Giles was a policeman." Willow exclaimed, slapping Xander lightly on the shoulder.

"Hey! Neither did I! I thought he retired a while ago!" Xander defended, and turned back to the TV.

" 'I'm happy to say we have a very good lead on who it is—' " Giles began, but the TV shut off as well as all the rest of the power in the house. The teens clung to each other. Mexican music floated downstairs and the group all looked at each other, horrified.

"I know what it is." Willow said finally. "Our radio. It doesn't run on electricity." Everyone visible relaxed, and Oz and Connor ventured up to turn it off.

"My god. Why did this have to happen. I wish I had just been able to go to Italy." Cordelia cried.

"Hey!" Xander objected.

"And brought Xander with me." she added. Everyone knew this didn't really make sense, but it seemed to satisfy Xander.

The music stopped and Oz and Connor returned. Almost as soon as they sat down, there was a banging on the door.

"I'll get it." Dawn said and walked down to the door. She opened it and was surprised to see Mike standing there.

He was holding a gun up and snarled, "Get out of the way." Dawn's eyes widened and she scrambled up the stairs.

"Mike's the rapist!" she yelled as she tripped over the rug and fell. Everyone jumped from their seats and backed away as Mike stormed up towards them.

"I'm going to kill him." he growled.

"Who?" Willow asked feebly.

"SHUT UP!" he yelled. He was still holding up his gun, so the group decided it was probably best to listen to him. "I know you're here. Trying to kill the girl."

"He's insane." Dawn whispered, on the verge of tears. Oz inched to the sliding glass door that lead out to the deck. Mike spun around to him.

"Touch that door and the redhead dies." he warned. Oz froze, looking from the gun, to Mike, to Willow, and back to the gun. Dawn was sobbing by now and Buffy was holding her tightly.

"My dad has a gun here." Xander whispered to Angel. "Distract him and I'll try and get it." Angel nodded as he strode over to the door.

"Don't move!" Mike roared facing Angel, pulling out a second gun. He had one aimed at Willow and one aimed at Angel. Xander used the distraction to crouch down and crawled to the trunk against the walk.

There was a bang in the kitchen and everyone turned to look at the door. Cordelia moved in front of the rest of the girls to get a better look.

Xander quickly pulled the gun out and turned it on Mike. But Mike had taken the gun off Angel and Willow and was now aiming both guns at the kitchen door.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are." he said in a sing-song voice. The door swung open, but Mike didn't shoot. He found that Xander's gun was against the back of his head.

A teen boy stepped out of the kitchen, holding a gun as well. Buffy gasped.

"Josh?" she questioned.

"You know him?" Mike asked, looking utterly perturbed.

"He's Spike's friend!" Buffy exclaimed.

"Yeah. Spike's my friend. And I'm here. Protecting you from the killer." the teen called Josh called through the dark.

"You ARE THE KILLER!" Mike exploded. At this point Xander was so confused, he didn't know where to put the gun.

"He's trying to trick you, don't trust him." Josh said, sounding sincere. Xander pointed his gun at Mike. Suddenly the boy reached out, grabbed Xander's gun, cracked him across the face with it, and pointed one gun at Dawn and one at Mike.

Xander fell backwards being hit in the face. Now, seeing as he didn't have a weapon, he backed away.

"Josh!" Buffy screeched shrilly. Dawn felt to make sure her cell was in her pocket. It was. She inched over in front of Oz, and Oz moved back to the group. Angel stood on one side of Dawn and the door handle was on the other.

"Who's the good guy?" Connor asked.

"I am." Mike said, sounding a lot more calm. There was a long silence where all the was heard was rain splashing against the windows and the occasional crack of thunder. Dawn cautiously pulled her phone out of her pocket and flipped it open.

Josh fired at her, barely looking.

"NO!" Cordelia screamed and threw herself in front of Dawn. The bullet went into her lower chest. She fell backwards into Dawn and knocked Dawn over.

Dawn fell through the glass, shattering it.

"Go! Run! Get help!" Buffy screamed. Dawn looked up, horrified as blood pooled around Cordelia. She glanced at Buffy and showed that the glass had left long scratches down her face and arms. She pulled herself up and ran.

Xander had run to Cordelia's side and was trying to slow the bleeding.

"Oh god." Willow said quietly.

"Anyone runs, someone _else_ will get killed." Josh warned, looking at the teens menacingly.

"Why the hell aren't you shooting?" Angel screamed at Mike.

"Hold your horses." Mike said firmly. The guys had crowded around Cordy and the girls were too scared to move.

Sirens filled the air and Josh looked from the group to Mike. A maniacal smile was plastered onto his face. He turned his spare gun on Willow and Buffy. He shot both guns. So did Mike.

Buffy dragged Willow down and heard the bullet whizzing over their heads. Willow was sobbing uncontrollably and Buffy held her, stroking her hair. She heard two thumps seconds later.

She chanced a look over the couch and saw Mike and Josh both lying on the floor. Josh raised his head a few inches off the floor and fired his last shot at Buffy. His head hit the floor as the bullet went into Buffy's shoulder.

She shrieked in pain and heard the front door splintering open. Everything went black.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

Willow held Buffy, screaming for help. Giles was there, holding up his badge. Two police took Josh away and paramedics were running around the room with stretchers.

Dawn walked in the door and saw Buffy being taken away.

"Oh god." she whispered and ran after.

Cordelia was in an ambulance and Xander went with her.

Buffy was in another and Dawn went with her. The rest of the group was standing around the living room with Giles for a few minutes before they heard a motorcycle pull up.

Spike burst in. "Dawn called me…is everyone alright?" he asked and was immediately hushed by the sight of blood and shattered glass.

"Oh god." he said and looked at the group to see who was missing. "Buffy. Xander. Dawn. Cordelia. Are they alright?" he demanded.

"Buffy was shot in the shoulder. Cordelia was shot in the stomach. Dawn is just scraped up. Xander is fine." Giles said.

"Are…are they going to live? Buffy and-and Cordy?" Spike asked softly.

"We don't know." Giles said truthfully.

They heard Jenny's car pull up and she rushed in. She was given the same quick news before each of the teens recalled the story.

"This boy is going to have a life sentence." Giles muttered as he scribbled things down on his notepad.

"What about Mike? Who is he?" Oz questioned.

"He works for the police here. He's been a little…off his rocker…since his younger sister was raped and murdered by Joe. That's when he got involved in the case. Then it got too much, and he took a few days off. Joe was caught during his time off. We, I'm sorry to say, neglected to tell Mike. Well, Mike was very upset with us after that, and when the murders started up again, he…well…he called us all the equivalent of 'stupid worthless gits' and vowed he would find the 'real' killer." Giles explained.

"Ok, and Josh…what did he have to do with any of this?" Spike questioned, thinking that it was impossible that one of his best friends and band members could have done this. Giles took off his glasses and began.

"That's what we're trying to figure out. He had the same style as Sanchez and—"

"Sanchez?" Spike interrupted.

"Yes. Joseph Sanchez. Don't you watch the news?" Giles asked.

"Not much. But…Josh Sanchez. That's who that was…is." Spike said breathing heavily. He was about ready to take a gun to Josh's head himself.

"That's very helpful. Now I'm going to tell you all right now, you're not staying here for the night. Jenny, I want you to take everyone to the nearest hotel and then call my cell. I let you know when you can see Buffy and Cordelia." Giles said before leaving.

"I-I'm going to go now." Spike said, feeling almost guilty. He walked away, head hanging.

Angel ran to catch up. "Spike!"

"What is it?" Spike asked, not really wanted to be yelled at this moment.

"It's not your fault." Angel said. He cautiously put a hand on Spike's shoulder. "You didn't know. Just…just don't blame yourself. If you did something stupid, Buffy would never forgive you."

"Thanks mate." Spike said and got on his motorcycle and left.

"Ok kids, pack up your clothes and we're heading over to a hotel. Now." Jenny said and went up to her room.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

The gang was split up, three to a room. Jenny and Willow shared the other room, and might be joined by Giles at some point. And Connor, Angel and Oz shared a room. They would split up differently once Dawn, Buffy, Cordelia, and Xander were there, but this was the situation for now.

Jenny and Willow sat in their bedroom, on the same bed, facing each other.

"I have never been so scared in my life." Willow whispered, tears filling her eyes. Jenny grasped both of Willow's hands in her own.

"It's ok now. Rupert has gotten the whole family in for questioning. There will be no more attacks, and finally Rupert can have a good night's sleep." Jenny assured her.

"Why didn't you tell us what he did?" Willow asked, tilting her head to the side.

"I…had no idea. He retired a while back, but they wanted him on the job. He told me a few days before Joe Sanchez was caught, if memory serves. And I didn't want you kids worrying about it." Jenny said, letting go of one of Willow's hands to brush some red hair out of her niece's face.

"We're not children." Willow muttered snappishly.

"I…" Jenny began, but was at a loss for words. "I know…I-I'm sorry."

Willow shrugged and hugged her aunt, so happy that she wasn't the one that got shot. She felt guilty right after thinking that, because her two best friends were in the hospital with bullet wounds. And one of them might die.

At the thought of her best friend being killed, she began sobbing. It would be all her fault, she had insisted that Cordelia come.

"There, there." Jenny murmured, pulling the girl into a hug. "There, there."

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

The guys sat around the room, barely talking at all. The TV was on, but it was turned way down. All that had been on the news for the past hour or so was about the rapist.

They were there; they didn't need the recap.

"I hope Buffy's ok." Angel kept muttering to himself. He was surprised that Oz wasn't with Willow. If he could, he would be with Buffy, cradling her in his arms.

Buffy had saved Willow's life and had gotten shot.

At least she would live.

Cordelia had saved Dawn's life and had gotten shot.

She wasn't so lucky.

Angel felt so bad for Xander, who had finally found the perfect girlfriend. All his other girls had played him or dumped him for someone more popular. He was glad that Xander would be able to stay at the hospital with her.

'I wish I could be at the hospital to keep him company.' Angel said to himself. "I'm gonna go to bed."

The other guys gave him thumbs up and they switched out the lights. Oz and Connor sat at the window, looking out onto the road. They were playing cards and neither of them talked, trying to give Angel as much peace as they could.

He sorta wished they would talk. As un-manly as it sounds, he was afraid to be alone. And darkness and silence made him feel alone. He knew he should fall asleep before the other guys, because Connor was going to have to share a bed with him, and he wouldn't be able to get to sleep if there was someone next to him.

He rolled over and buried his face in the pillow.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

Dawn sat next to Buffy, who had a blood transfusion and had her shoulder bandaged. She was still asleep, but she would be ok.

Dawn had her arm in a cast (it was sprained when she fell) and all her cuts were cleaned out. She ended up lucky, not needing any stitches or anything.

But since she wanted to stay with Buffy, the nurse made up an excuse that she needed Dawn to stay overnight. And so she and Buffy were sharing a room.

Dawn was worried to death about Cordelia, and felt guilt-stricken. She was just trying to help, but it might've gotten Cordy killed.

She grasped one of Buffy's limp hands in her own and kissed it lightly.

Half an hour without moving, she finally released Buffy's hand and went to bed as well.


End file.
